MERRIMACK, NH — Merrimack High School's FIRST Robotics Competition team, Chop Shop 166, is headed back to the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, after qualifying at the New England District Championship in Springfield, Massachusetts.
From April 15 to April 18, the team was at The Eastern States Exposition, known as The Big E, where 100 teams from across New England competed for spots at the world championship.
Chop Shop Lead Mentor Ian MacGregor said the event showed how the team had come together during the season.
“One of my favorite things to see is a group of students coming together and working as a TEAM and the students of Chop Shop did exactly that,” he said. “The months of planning, design, build, coding, planning for outreach, sharing through marketing, all of it came together smoothly as a single team working as one.”
During qualification matches, Chop Shop won 8 of 12 and finished 10th in the standings.
Liam, the Chop Shop’s software lead and robot operator, described an uneven start before the team settled in.
“The first few qualification matches were rough with something breaking every match,” he said. “The drive team eventually got into a rhythm, solidifying our ranking of 10th at the end of the qualification matches.”
After qualifications, Team 1699, the Robocats of Colchester, Connecticut, selected Chop Shop for Alliance No. 4. Team 1699 also chose Team 467, Center of Mass from Shrewsbury, MA, to round out the three-team alliance. Liam said the selection marked the team's best alliance placement in its past five district championships, but the alliance was eliminated after two playoff matches.
Even with the playoff exit, Chop Shop finished 26th in the district and earned enough district points to qualify for the FIRST Championship for the second year in a row. Katie, the team’s outreach lead, said the team was proud to qualify again.
“I think I can speak for the whole team when I say that I am extremely proud to be representing Merrimack at FIRST Championship again this year,” she said. “Chop Shop goes to show that even a small team can have a big impact, and even our small town gets to show off on the world stage!”
The team is scheduled to travel to Houston on April 28 and compete with more than 700 other FRC teams across eight divisions.
To help cover travel costs, Chop Shop 166 has started a GoFundMe, and the team said every dollar raised will go toward lowering costs for students. Chop Shop 166, from Merrimack, was first formed in 1995 and is in its 32nd season with FIRST.
To donate or to become a sponsor of the Merrimack FIRST Robotics Team Chop Shop 166, visit chopshop166.com/sponsorships.
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