My team created an animation sub-team last year. We entered into team 116’s contest using Autodesk’s 3DS Max, so we have a little experience using 3DS Max. Some of the members of our team would like to switch to Blender, which they know from playing with it on their own. Which one would be better to use? If Autodesk hosts the competition during build season will they require 3DS Max to be used?
It really depends on what people have more experience in. If your people learned on Blender, it will be hard for them to pick up 3ds Max. The opposite applies as well. I personally prefer Blender because it’s free, and the controls actually make more sense, if you take the time to learn them.
From what I remember, Autodesk never required a certain program to be used for the animation competitions. Our team didn’t even use 3DS Max, opting for Autodesk Maya instead. Plus, I know for a fact that some of last year’s safety animations were made in Blender, like this one
I’m a bit late to the discussion, but I hope my input helps anyway 
I would recommend sticking with Autodesk software, be it 3DS Max or Maya. If anyone on the subteam is considering doing animation or something similar for a career, Autodesk is professional grade software, and the heightened experience with it will pay off later. I did animation with 3DS Max my first year in FIRST, so maybe I’m a bit biased, but I really liked it after I grew more familiar with the program. If you’ve still got an animation team, play with Blender and Max during the summer to figure out what works best for everyone. At the end of the day, the preference is personal. And for the Autodesk requirement, I believe Jscout11 is correct. I remember flip-book style animations being submitted previously.