The conclusion of a round of matches added points to a team’s tally if its members succeeded in managing to lift their robots off the ground in a display of precise maneuvering, operation control and coordination. Courtesy photo by GRACE BOOKS

MERRIMACK – Potential inventors of future wizardry made of microchips and magic surely were among the hundreds of high schoolers, mentors and volunteers from 29 regional robotics teams that on Feb. 15 attended Week Zero, a debut of the 2025 robotics season presented at Merrimack High School courtesy of FIRST Robotics Competition Team (FRC) Chop Shop 166, an award-winning club formed there in 1995.

The club for all grade levels there thrives as a member of the global nonprofit FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) organization, one dedicated since its founding in 1989 to encouraging in the young a love of STEM — Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

“It is an incredible honor to be selected to host FIRST’s Week Zero event,” said Matthew Gage, lead mentor of Chop Shop 166. “Week Zero offered a great opportunity for everyone here to learn about FIRST robotics opportunities.”

The gathering in Merrimack was a kickoff for REEFSCAPE presented by Haas as the year’s official 2025 FIRST challenge. Team members remotely operated their robots to snake around the gymnasium playing field, pick off destructive plastic algae off a simulated reef, add pieces of coral and otherwise restore the reef to pristine health.

A premier broadcast online from the FIRST Robotics Competition YouTube channel recently shared a worldwide video teaser about REEFSCAPE that reportedly drew an estimated 92,525 student viewers from more than 3,700 teams.

The competitors of FRC Team 9644, NEIA Robotics of Clinton, Mass., Team 1721 Tidal Force of Concord and Team 246, the Lobstah Bots from Boston, Mass., work together to score points during the FIRST Week Zero event at Merrimack High School. Courtesy photo by GRACE BOOKS

The competition at MHS featured a multitude of alliances, each made up of three teams. Awarded at day’s end was Alliance #1, — the trio of FRC 190 Gompei and The HERD from Worcester, Mass., plus FRC Team 2877 LigerBots from Newtonville, Mass., and mates FRC Team 5422 Stormgears from Westford, Mass.

Local favorites were powerful and plentiful. Nashua’s Wild Cards 811 and Team Phoenix 2342 vied alongside Red Storm 509 and Mayhem 8724, both of Bedford, while The Force Team 1073 of Hollis also was heartily applauded.

Matt Murray, a mentor for Chop Shop 166, noted Week Zero was the first opportunity for any team to compete on the official playing field for the 2025 season. The REEFSCAPE theme brings a focus to protecting oceans and coral reefs, he added.

More information on the Merrimack High School Robotics Club can be found online: chopshop166.com/home.

Contenders from FRC Team 4909, The Bionics from Billerica, Mass., place additional white coral pieces onto a purple coral reef representative of an ocean environment in a move that scored for them valuable points during the FIRST Week Zero competition at MHS. Courtesy photo by HAILEY DOWNIE

Members from FRC Team 1073, The Force Team from Hollis, make adjustments to their robot between matches at the Week Zero robotics competition that drew 29 robotics teams from throughout New England to Merrimack High School during a recent robotics season opener hosted by Chop Shop 166, based at MHS. Courtesy photo by HAILEY DOWNIE