As a judge in this contest, my criteria for elegance will be similar Shneeky's above. I am looking for characters that would be fun to play and have a "wow" factor; something that sets them apart from typical builds and what your fellow contestants may be submitting. Doing unexpected things with a limited set of abilities is what optimization is all about, so surprise me.

Also, I am fine with variants from UA, but your build shouldn't hinge on what are essentially houserules, such as fractional BAB/Saves.