[dtengineering]

If I may suggest.... don't concern yourself too much with the robots.

Meet the people involved and check out the calibre of events in your area. How many times will you be able to compete? Do you feel welcomed and supported?

Consider your team's budget... what are your start up and operating expenses for each competition. Consider equipment, entry fees and - if necessary - travel for local events.

And without getting TOO hopeful, consider your vision of a World Championship event. There are differences between the VEX Championship (one event, all VEX), and the FIRST Championships (two events, with other, larger robots playing, too.)

For all we like to geek out over the technology - it's not that big of a deal. Both VEX and FTC offer excellent platforms that are more than sufficient to challenge your team in both mechanical design and coding. A much bigger impact will come from the people - in your area - who make the events happen.

The longer you play robots, the more you realize that it's not about the robots.

Jason