Alliance Tournament as a Recruiting Event? | EVE Online

Alliance Tournament as a Recruiting Event?

2008-02-24 - Por Svarthol

Nonni, Lonetrek - It seems that fans won't be the only ones watching the upcoming Alliance Tournament with keen interest. Security corporations, particularly those that operate in Caldari space will also be paying close attention to the performance of various competitors.

While official corporate sponsorship for the Tournament (usually for advertising purposes) is becoming commonplace, more and more companies are looking at the event as a place to recruit top talent. Saakao Uuliota, a spokesman for the Home Guard corporation explained, "The Alliance Tournament brings out some of the best combat pilots in the cluster. These people are the cream of the crop. They have enormous practical experience at squeezing the maximum performance out of their ships in tense situations."

But it's about more than just the skills of individual combat pilots. "The teams who do well in the Tournament succeed because they can look at a tactical situation, adapt their plans accordingly, and work together towards a common goal," said Maeven Ukuhila, a watch officer for Spacelane Patrol. "We actually use footage of Alliance Tournament matches to help train our command staff effective combat management skills. These engagements show them what to do, and in some cases what not to do."

Because the Tournament showcases the best that these alliances have to offer, it is the perfect venue for "talent scouts" from various corporations to find willing and able contractors for future security work. "I'd love to hire some of these people immediately, poach them right out of their alliances," said Amzenaru Kurida, a deputy director for the Corporate Police Force. "But immigration constraints and contractual obligations often preclude it. And quite frankly, most of these pod-pilots form lasting loyalties to their alliances, to the point that luring them away would be prohibitively expensive. But there's no harm in me giving them my card just in case, now is there?"

For years corporations and organizations throughout the cluster have frequently resorted to the use of individual capsuleers as auxiliaries or "deniable assets," and this is especially true of security and military groups. But recent rumors have surfaced that there is increasing desire on the part of these organizations to award larger contracts to capsuleer corporations and alliances.

Home Guard's Uuliota remarked, "Many capsuleer alliances make no secret about the fact that their services are for sale, and several have solid reputations for experience and professionalism. If we find ourselves in need of temporary forces to augment a big security initiative, it would be foolish of us to ignore the resource that these groups pose simply because they are non-aligned."

Even corporations that lack the resources or interest in hiring capsuleers directly are paying close attention to other aspects of the Tournament. "In terms of fleet composition, ship fittings, and tactics, these pilots are pushing the edge," said Amzenaru Kurida. "It seems that every Tournament brings about some new tactical insight. If we at CPF can translate that into practice in the field quickly, we gain an advantage over our competitors."

Whether your interest in the Alliance Tournament is tactical, monetary, or a matter of team pride, this season's contests show signs of being the best yet.