Lycanthrope, WESHOOT2 is right that you should shoot a couple matches before you buy anything. You may not like it. You may think it's the greatest thing in the world.
Past that, high capacity magazines are an advantage in Open and Limited divisions. In the Limited 10 or Production divisions there is a 10 round capacity limit and high cap mags are potentially a liability and that getting caught with one loaded with more than 10 rounds moves you to Open division.
Having owned several Paras and Kimbers, my recommendation would be to get a Kimber single stack and shoot Limited 10. It's been my experience and the experience of another 6-8 members of my club that Paras do not hold up under IPSC type usage. Without exception, just about every one of us has replaced half the gun by 10,000 rounds and everything but the frame, slide, and barrel by 20K. Kimbers also have some parts susceptible to breakage but generally not the the extent that Paras do.
A more expensive choice for Limited 10 would be an STI Trojan (
http://www.stiguns.com) which is their 1911 single stack. I have one and the fit, finish, and overall quality is far above anything Kimber or Para makes. It is easily the best 1911 under $1000. I recommend Chuck Bradley at Shooters Connection (
http://www.shootersconnection.com) for STI products and IPSC merchandise in general. Chuck is a USPSA Grand Master in Limited and knows his stuff. He only sells good products and he stands behind them. I've been dealing with him for several years now and am completely satisfied.
Another good option for beginners is Production division. In addition to not needing high cap mags, you can also avoid the expense of race holsters and other expensive gear and can shoot inexpensive 9mm ammo as Production is minor power factor only. If you can shoot Glocks, the Glock 34 is a great choice for this division as is some of the Beretta models.
