About
Our History, Mission, and Values
We're building a team, not a robot.
At Comet Robotics, our focus isn't just on winning, but on working together and learning together.
Our Journey
A timeline of our evolution and achievements.
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At a Crossroads
Our previous head coach, Gail Drake, and all other mentors from ILITE departed. In the months that followed, our students explored various options. We considered a "training season" to regroup or forming an FTC team. During this period, several students who had been part of ILITE chose to join other teams such as 8592 Newton2.
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Rebuilding with Purpose
Despite the departures, seven committed members chose to stay and rebuild. We were incredibly fortunate to welcome Mrs. May as our new head coach, who brought with her a wealth of experience and her husband, Mr. May, a talented software engineer. This marked the true beginning of Comet Robotics.
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Forging Our Own Identity
The 2023 season was filled with challenges, but it was also a period where we truly distinguished ourselves. We focused on cultivating a kind, respectful, and fun attitude. Our efforts were recognized at our second competition in Alexandria, Virginia, where we proudly won the Team Spirit Award.
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Soaring with Outreach and Recognition
Our dedicated work in the community led us to win the Engineering Inspiration Award at our Blacksburg event. We continued our winning streak at the Alexandria event, once again securing the Team Spirit Award. Our hard work culminated in our first-ever trip to Districts, where we competed for the Engineering Inspiration Award, a significant milestone for our growing team.
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First Offseason Competitions & Custom Build
The 2024 offseason marked our first attendance at off-season competitions and our debut building a robot from scratch, moving beyond kitbots. Our design, a modified clone of 9496 LYNK's LATCH, competed at the Chesapeake Robotics Icebreaker and Battle o' Baltimore. At BoB, we achieved a qualification rank of 6 and were proud to captain Alliance 6. Although it was just an offseason event, it was the first time we had ever captained an alliance.
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Fully CADed Robot & District Qualification
The 2025 season saw us fully CAD our own robot for the first time, an 'Algae-focused shooter bot.' Our robot's performance also earned us our first-ever qualification for Districts.