Ice,
As you said, practice is the key!! Practice flying straight lines, parallel to the flightline. Practice flying at a constant speed. Learn how to fly 45 degree lines up and down. From watching other guys who fly alot of 3D come into IMAC I would say reduce your control throws and increase your exponenential values. Make everything as smooth as possible.

Most importantly, get out to a contest next spring and see what it's all about. There's 2 contests just east of St Louis, 2 just north of Terre Haute, as well as a couple around the Cincinatti area. I'm not sure what's south of there.

Be sure to go to the IMAC website and look around on there. You can get the current rules there.

Good Luck,
Gary H.