How things work here (a.k.a READ THIS!!!)

1. What is SGTA?
As its name suggests, SGTA (Specialist Global Tank Academy) is an Academy, founded in the 6th of May 2012, by Ding760, open to most of the playerbase (see limitations here), whose aim and purpose is improve the skill and competence level of its students-members. For more information on this issue, you can consult our mission statement here.

2. How is SGTA structured?
On top of the command chain is the Commander of the clan: EUROBrit

Right below him there are two deputy commanders: Vallu01 and Wasp_RA

Follow the instructors of the Academy

Instructors that are not members of the Academy

Academy staff

Academy guides

The Academy Graduates

The Students

The Students on the waiting list

3. Why should apply to join SGTA?
WoT is typically a game that is easy to learn but hard to master. You might end up learning many things eventually by experience, but in our Academy you will find people with an extensive knowledge of the game that are willing to share their knowledge and experience and show you all you need to know in order to dominate the battlefields! Our clan is the only dedicated Academy in the game, and if you are eager to learn, it can provide you with all the tools and supplies you need to be effective and make the difference for your team.

4. How do I apply for SGTA?
First you need to comply with the minimum criteria required for joining the Academy. If you decide to apply as a student for SGTA you can fill an application here. After that you can go say hi to other members in the Introductions section. If the clan is full you will be put in a waiting list and get your invitation on a first come-first served basis. The current waiting list can be seen here. Bear in mind that you can be a member of the forum without joining SGTA, or while being on the waiting list.

Once your application is accepted, you will be assigned a guide, who will show you how things work here in SGTA. He will also hook you up with some of the clan members, and show you how to request platoons, lessons or any other information you might require. More on the guide progam here. Once you have been assigned a guide you should get in contact with him (either via pm, either directly ingame). 

If you wish to apply to SGTA as an instructor, you should contact one of our staff directly; you will then be contacted by our senior staff and in order to be appraised. You will probably have to go through a personal interview, as well as a trial period before you get selected. Do not bother applying as an instructor unless you have a very deep knowledge of the game and if you are not willing to put in considerable time and effort to this endeavor.

5. What are the teaching methods in SGTA?
There are many teaching methods used in SGTA, some of which are scheduled and structured, and some that are done on the fly, upon request or as a daily routine. Training in the Academy can be divided into two main axes: hands-on active training and theoretical training.

Hands-On training

• Scheduled classes
These are the backbone of our curriculum. They are organized by the instructors 2-3 times per week and consist of scheduled and organized group sessions. The topics are taken from the official Academy curriculum and are delivered by the Academy instructors. Depending on student level, there are basic, intermediate and advanced courses. Although presence is not mandatory in every class held, attendance is monitored closely and if students fail to meet a certain quota of attendances each month, warnings will be issued and disciplinary actions will be taken. After all you are here to learn we should not have to force you to attend.

• Tank Companies
Tank Companies can be scheduled or unscheduled. There are two scheduled every week (one medium on Saturdays and one junior on Wednesdays) but can also be organized on the fly upon request, depending on attendance and student availability. What differentiates scheduled from unscheduled TCs is that the scheduled ones are official and are organized specifically for training purposes in team tactics, while the unscheduled ones are mostly “for fun”.

The Field Commander in each battle can either be an Instructor or a student appointed by the instructor for training purposes. Although the atmosphere in the Academy is quite relaxed, during team battles discipline must be ABSOLUTE. There is a thread laying down the rules on TCs in SGTA which can be found here. These rules should be followed by the book.

• One-on-one lessons requests
Should there be a topic not covered by the official curriculum, should a student wish to have some clarifications concerning a lesson, or should a student wish to learn something particular about a specific tank or map he can always ask for a one-on-one session, either on the fly by the available instructors that are online at the moment, either in a scheduled session by posting a lesson request on the relative forum section. This kind of service can be also provided by SGTA graduates. By all means, do NOT hesitate to ask! Your instructors are here for that and your request will be given the required attention.

• Platooning
Platooning is strongly encouraged in SGTA, and all students should be actively seeking to platoon either with instructors, either with SGTA graduates, either with more experienced students, as part of their daily routine. The purpose of this is to provide students with real-time advice in actual battle situations. Students should always ask for feedback after every battle they have participated in.
There are also some organized educational platoon sessions organized by instructors or other staff members. These are either announced in the forums beforehand either in the in-game chat.

Theoretical Training

• Consulting the official SGTA forum. This is mandatory and needs to be done on a daily basis. There are sections in the forum with tank-specific guides (see archives section of the  
       forum) as well as general hints, tips and strategy guides. There are also class notes available for each class of the Academy curriculum. A tankers handbook is also drafted by a
       former Academy member and will be available to the students within the next few months

• Watching videos on the official SGTA YouTube channel. You will find lots of videos with hints, tips and techniques you can learn in the Academy put into practice.

• Asking for information on the fly either by voicecomms either in the official in-game chat channel. All SGTA staff, instructors, experienced students or SGTA graduates are at the
       students’ disposal for answering any questions they might have relative to the game. So if you want to know something, don’t be shy, just ask, we are here to help you!

• Watching other student’s and/or posting your own replays in the relative section of the forum. You can either learn from more experienced students’ and/or instructors replays or ask
       for feedback on the replays you post.

• Consulting available sources of information outside SGTA. In our links section on our site you can find links for the official WoT forum, the WoT wiki, hitskin and armor weakspot sites,
       live streaming and/or YouTube channels of good players, websites and any other medium that can contain useful information concerning WoT.

6. How is the atmosphere in SGTA? Is it a strict clan?
The atmosphere in SGTA is quite relaxed and while we all enjoy winning, the vast majority of us play for fun (and we are not ashamed of it!). We are also fond of joking and fooling around, always depending on the circumstances. You will not get yelled at for not doing something correctly, you will never be treated with disrespect, or bullied because of your stats, winrate or other e-peen related causes. The Academy is open to all kinds of players, experience, efficiency ratings, battle count, winrate do not matter here. You are all here to learn and improve and you will do both.

Speaking of respect, there are only a few rules that you must always keep in mind. As a member of SGTA you are representing the clan in all aspects of the game. Therefore you should keep up the clan’s good reputation. You will treat your fellow-students, your instructors and all other players you encounter ingame or in forums or in any other game-related activity with respect. No bullying, insulting of other players, provocative attitude, racism, or any other type of abuse will be tolerated. Should SGTA staff become aware of reports and proof of this type of behavior from a clan member, disciplinary actions will follow, and the exclusion from the clan is a very likely outcome.

Another point of discipline (we only have three which is the strict minimum to run a clan) also involves respect. Respect towards your instructors that take off their time to prepare and deliver to you all their knowledge and experience. You are expected to respect them by attending their classes and once there, to follow their orders and instructions in an orderly fashion. Do not talk over the instructors, follow the directions they give you, be open to advice and criticism, and do not be disruptive towards the class in any way. After all, if you are not interested, it is better to leave the class than to ruin it for everybody else. Professionalism is the key word here.

Final point of discipline concerns Tank Companies or any other team related exercise. The authority and instructions of the Field Commander are ABSOLUTE during battle. You can discuss or question tactics and decisions AFTER the battle is finished but never DURING battle. During battle, you will follow your orders to the letter, even if you do not agree with them, without questioning them. During battle you only execute, you can discuss after the battle. This does not mean that the FC is always right, but we cannot afford to discuss about it in the heat of battle. Remember, FC is learning from this exercise as you do. More information about Tank Companies here.

7. What about communications?
There are two main types of communication in SGTA: direct real-time communication during the game and indirect communication while not in the game. In other words, our forum is our mean of communication when not in the game and direct ingame communication consists of tools such as voicecomms or in-game chat channels.

• Our forum
You're here already in it and you are required to keep checking it daily. Here you can find all the information you need about all clan activity and it's our main means of communicating. You must register in the forums as soon as you join the clan, if not before, using the SAME nickname you have ingame. Our forums also include a chatbox, please register for that also. Feel free to use it at your convenience.
Use of SGTA forum is mandatory for all members, in order to keep updated with important Academy policies and affairs and all classes are announced in the forum. Our forum is what is keeping our clan connected, and therefore every member of the Academy should be regularly and actively following what is going on in the forum. We attach so much importance of our members being up to date with the forum that we have setup a monitoring procedure of member attendance. Disciplinary measures will be taken towards any clan member that is not systematically following the forum.

• Voice communications
Our clan uses Teamspeak3 for our voice communications. SGTA members are required to use voice communications at ALL TIMES unless there is a VALID reason for not doing so. In any case, you should still join Teamspeak and keep your mic muted.

Upon joining the clan you must download, install and setup TS by following the instructions provided here. Again you are required to use the SAME nickname you have ingame so as to avoid any confusion. Our clan has a dedicated server which is available to all clan members.

The first time you join you will have a “guest” status and you will not be able to move through the available channels. You will have to ask a member of staff that is online at the time to upgrade your status to “user” so you can use TS properly.

You must enter TS every time you join the game as soon as you join the game. This is mandatory for all members.

• Ingame chat
This is the default ingame chat channel that you join automatically each time you are in the game as a member of SGTA. This is our informal ingame communication medium. Our formal chat communication in game is done via our "Academy HQ" channel.

• Academy HQ channel
This is our official ingame SGTA chat. The reason we are not using the default ingame chat channel is that we need a chat channel that SGTA graduates and instructors that are not members of the clan can join as well. As a member of SGTA you are therefore required to join the “Academy HQ” as soon as you join the game. Instructions on how to join are here. We expect ALL members of SGTA to be in the "Academy HQ" channel with no exceptions.

Recap:

As soon as you join SGTA:
• Register and create your forum account using the SAME nickname as you do ingame in order to avoid any confusion
• Download, install and setup TS3 using the SAME nickname as you do ingame. Ask a member of staff to grant you user status so you can move between channels.

• Get all available information on how to join the "Academy HQ" channel
  
• Get in touch with your guide(either via pm, either directly ingame)
  

Weekly SGTA member routine:
• Participate at least in one organized class of your choice (once per week is recommended, once every month is compulsory)
• Participate in one Tank Company if you wish to experience coordinated team battle
• Keep up to date with the forum
• Join other SGTA members in platoons, using voicecomms as much as you can
• Be an active member of the clan, be involved and ask as many questions as you like

Every time you log in the game as a member of SGTA routine:
• Join SGTA TS server
• Join the “Academy HQ” chat channel
• Greet your fellow SGTA members

We hope you enjoy your stay with us, and if you have any further questions or need more information or clarifications on any of the above subject do not hesitate to contact us we are here to help!

EUROBrit

SGTA Commander