Also, if there is not a FIRST Vex competition geographically close, you might check into other Vex options, like Robofest
http://robofest.net/ . They had a Vex Pentathlon division this year, and the cost was very reasonable (our team spent $35 on registration and $20 on practice field materials, plus our robot kits). It does tend to overlap FRC season, especially if you go to Nationals.