Good article, I did enjoy reading it.

I heard very similar concerns from people when I was doing IPAS, and in the end the answers were much the same - You really don't have to be a superlative shot (but you will get better by taking part!), the competitive aspect is not all that important and even at the highest level there was still banter - I had the pleasure of shooting at events with Steve Taylor, who was/is a superb pistol shot, and not once did he evince any kind of snobbery. He was very helpful to novices.
And it doesn't have to be all that expensive. Some people must have dropped the best part of a grand or more on their IPAS rigs, but you could get started for £100 or so if you shopped around.