[Rick TYler]

JesseK sent me a thoughtful PM, and I encourage you to do what JesseK did -- pull up the spreadsheet and enter your own figures.

This year, VEX is introducing a new WiFi controller and field management system, which some tournaments will require this year and others won't. The spreadsheet has a line item for this, which was left blank when I ran my numbers. If you include the $149 upgrade as a first-year expense, and purchase an extra remote control and some extra $20 motors, the first year VRC expense for four teams goes up to a little under $5,000.

Similarly, I based the FTC numbers off of what FIRST says, including $300 for "additional parts." Last year, our FTC teams spent far more than that -- at least $500 per team, mostly for extra gears, motor and servo controllers, and replacement motors. Since the new FTC rules seem to allow ANY LEGO component, and not just the ones in the FTC kit, I foresee teams spending more on LEGO than they did last year. Your mileage may vary, so pull up that spreadsheet and put in your own numbers.

JesseK also said that the recurring costs are higher than I estimated. In our experience, we plan to budget about 20% of parts cost per year in upgrades and replacements. I used lower figures than that for both FTC and VRC, but for MY teams (who tend to spend pretty heavily) we would use the higher numbers. I included lower numbers for recurring costs than our own teams' expenses, but we also buy things like aluminum frame kits and all the new parts that come out, so we are at the high end. I see lots of successful VEX robots that clearly cost less than ours. We are also a fourth-year program that has never stopped raising money, so we can afford the new toys.

Honest, I wasn't trying to pull a fast one here. Use the spreadsheet (or don't) to figure out the financial aspect of which is the best program for you. Obviously, money is only one aspect of this decision, so don't forget to look at other things like how well a certain program meets your own educational goals, local tournament availability, and local volunteer support.