A Whangarei woman who was told she couldn't become a Rugby World Cup volunteer because she doesn't have her own email address says the requirement is discriminatory.
Jill Strong, of Kamo, and her husband Peter decided to become volunteers and contacted the Northland Rugby Union. They were told to enter their
details on the Rugby World Cup 2011 website.
Mrs Strong said her husband registered successfully, but when she tried the system rejected her because she entered the same email address. She spoke to a volunteer organiser at RWC headquarters in Wellington, who confirmed she was ineligible without her own address.
The website says if potential volunteers don't have their own address they should create one before beginning the registration process.
"There are a number of high-quality email providers that have free email accounts like Gmail, Hotmail and Yahoo. Your local library or i-SITE will be able to assist with this process," the website says.
Mrs Strong, 63, said she had been sharing an email address with her husband since emails started and there was no need for another one.
"They're calling for more volunteers, people are rocking up and saying 'I can help', but they say if you don't have an email address we can't have you."
Organisers were reducing the number of possible volunteers with the requirement and if they were desperate for people they should change the system, Mrs Strong said. "I've got my driver's licence and they've done a police check, but if I don't comply with their separate email request I'm excluded."
Northland Rugby Union office administrator Mari Barkhuizen said she had received at least two phone calls in the past week from people experiencing the same problem.
Rugby New Zealand 2011 communications manager Mike Jaspers said more than 11000 people had so far registered for the more than 5000 Rugby World Cup positions around the country, so it seemed to him that the separate email requirement wasn't limiting the pool of volunteers. He said a unique email address enabled organisers to personalise communications and ensure the right person was getting the right information.
"We hope Jill Strong understands the process and we would welcome her applying."
