Steve,
Look at my new post on "IMAC too expensive". We have three pattern and three IMAC contests within 100 mile of Detroit. To keep costs down, I now fly the same plane, 60" Giles 202, in both pattern and IMAC. I call it no stress competition, but a lot of fun. That is okay for the basic (sportsman in pattern) classes, but not for the higher classes. A competitive pattern plane is going to cost you 1200 plus dollars, a competitive IMAC plane at least twice that, if not more.
Richard