Meets are not optional.  But neither are they guaranteed.
Meets serve two purposes: 1) they are part of our training program. Missing a meet means missing a quality training day that each athlete needs in order to improve. 2) meets are where our team has a special opportunity to shine. When an athlete misses a meet, the team suffers because the team score suffers.

We understand that occasionally an athlete must miss a practice or a meet because of illness, emergency, or prior family commitment.  However we are a competitive running team, so if you look at the practice schedule and meet schedule and can foresee ahead of time that there are multiple days your athlete will need to miss, this is probably not the year to join Aggieland Cross Country.

Per our Handbook, placement of athletes into meets is the discretion of the Coach. He or she will factor in skill level, attitude, coachable-ness, and work ethic. That is what is meant by "neither are meets guaranteed."