[Foster]

tl;dr: Don't care, inspire roboteers is the goal, both are great programs.

As a long term VEX metal mentor (10 years!!) and VEXIQ for the last two, I'm a VEX fan. Program costs are lower for:

* Initial registration
* Event registration
* Cost of building a robot

and at least in my area (DE, Southeast PA) there are a ton more events for roboteers to go to. There are almost 20 in the hour drive from my house. (6 of them in Delaware) And that point is the big decision point for you. It's competition robotics, how many events can your team go to?

The initial registration for teams are $75 for the first one and then $50 for each associated team after that. Because you are starting a team and you know from your FFL days there is a HUGE DEMAND for this. So your question should be around on going growth.

Events are about $50 in my area. In Delaware if you bring a field or some extra parents to help out, we will give you a free registration.

Cost to build a robot. You are building a World Champ Robot you are going to spend about $1500-$1800. If you start out you can build a pretty good robot for $1300 (Classroom kit). Next years costs will be about $200-300 for replacement parts.

But you can't 3D print, weld, etc. It's a engineering design box. VEX corrals the build costs by limiting parts. If you have $4K to spend on a 3D printer then FTC is for you. Constrained on costs? VEX

The huge downside of VEX is the growth. Tons of teams compete. The VEX Worlds have been split to have Metal the first 4 days, IQ the next 4 days. So there is more room this year, but as the program grows it's dog eat dog more competitive.

Good luck, let us know what you decide!