Handing those out as a general participation prize isn't a good idea, but as a prize to the top 3 winning teams it's actually appropriate. It's how it was done in the past, it's an "USRC headgear prize" after all.
As of recently though Oda has been awarding them to community event volunteers for hosting events. Why not add it as a prize?
Agreed. It is fitting that the USRC headgears be awarded in place of the easily obtainable upgrades for such a tournament.