[EricH]

Note that some school districts complain about students missing a lot of school when they go to a 2-day event. (I'm leaving Saturday off because it isn't a school day.) For those schools, FTC/VRC could be a better option.

Likewise, absolutely nothing says that you can't be in one, two, three, four, or more competitions. Many a team does FTC/VRC (and FLL, in a supporting role) in the fall and FRC in the spring.

Predetermined kit to work from is NOT a limit. See the early FRC rules once again. (I understand that sometimes a drill was included--it was used for building the robot, then driving the robot.) See the creativity shown by the teams back then.