‘RunIt' events under fire after tragedy highlights risks
THREE KEY FACTS
On the Friday nights of my preteen years, you would find me in front of the TV watching wrestling. Repeating the line, 'don't try this at home' as I leapt from the couch, dropping my best impression of a People's Elbow on to my unsuspecting little brother.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NZ Herald
2 days ago
- NZ Herald
Paaka Davis rejects $50k gambling deal on ethics because mana is more important than money
The many sides of social media influencer Paaka Davis. Montage / Paul Slater. Māori social media personality Paaka Davis turned down a $50,000 offer to promote online gambling stating his mana is more important than money. With almost 500,000 followers on social media, Davis told the Herald his principles are worth more than cash. 'There have been a lot of opportunities that I
NZ Herald
09-08-2025
- NZ Herald
‘Run it straight' $200k Dubai winner apologises after Kiwi teen's death linked to controversial sport
Speaking to the Herald five weeks after winning the Dubai event, Olosoni said Satterthwaite's death 'hurt me so much'. Ryan Satterthwaite, 19, died from serious head injuries suffered during a copycat run it straight game in Palmerston North in May. Photo / Instagram 'It made me think about life. Imagine being so young and you could've been something, then that happens to you... It's pretty rough [and] I feel sorry for the family that is enduring that pain,' he said. 'I apologise for that as well... influencing the younger generation to do that type of thing.' Olosoni said the incident made him rethink his participation in the sport and prompted Runit organisers to hold a string of meetings with competitors. 'They had a few conversations about it, making sure the boys understood what we were getting into, because it [death] is a possibility. 'In anything you do, you are at risk... Everything's risky, and the thing is we have to manage risk. 'One thing could happen inside the contact where if you're not trained enough, it could affect you long term. If you have constant concussions, you'll have dementia down the line.' Vulangi Olosoni, 26, took home A$200K after winning the Runit Championship League's Dubai-based final in June. Photo / Sylvie Whinray But Olosoni said the sport is helping people's lives, with life-changing sums of money up for grabs. 'This sport is going to help people who love contact, but also who would love to be in a contact sport where it can help their family long term. 'This income has helped my family, but also helped many others create income for their families as well.' He urged against copying the sport in an unprofessional setting like a backyard, over fears of another death. 'We had everything, that's why we were safe. We had doctors, nurses, a physio and made sure the referees were well trained in CPR and stuff like that. We had everything we could to give our best.' Despite the safety measures in place during the Dubai final, three competitors were forced to retire after displaying symptoms of a concussion – including former NRL veteran and Kiwis representative Kevin Proctor, who suffered a serious head injury and subsequent seizure after a collision. 'Run it straight' and other emerging combat sports are now at the centre of top-level Government discussions, with a decision on their futures in New Zealand set to be reached in the next six months. Concussion to Runit champion Olosoni, who grew up in rural South Auckland's Waiau Pa, said he was first told about the new sport by one of his closest friends – whom he used to 'run it straight' with in the backyard growing up. His background in sport includes 1st XV rugby at Rosehill College and a stint at premier club level in the Counties Manukau region, but he hung up the boots in 2022. 'The curious person I am, I went online and started searching run it straight up. I was like, 'Wait, I've done this many of times in rugby'.' His fears of getting seriously injured were put aside after he prayed and decided to throw his name in the hat. 'When I'm old, say for instance 65, would I regret not taking a chance that I could've? And that's what made me choose it myself.' Vulangi Olosoni: 'You feel like you have something to prove to everybody, that you should be there... I had to remember why I was there, to win for my family.' Photo / Sylvie Whinray Despite not playing any form of contact sport for three years, Olosoni was accepted to compete at the second Auckland trial night at Trusts Arena in front of hundreds of spectators. 'When I was there preparing, all these negative thoughts came to me. It was like 'You're not good enough, you won't achieve it, you won't win, you won't succeed'. 'My head space was cooked.' Olosoni ended up having only one run on the night after copping a shoulder to the head while he was tackling, causing him to stumble around and struggle to stay on his feet. He was forced to retire from the event. 'I wanted to make sure I kept my head away but I still got smacked in the head and that impact caused me to have a concussion.' Vulangi Olosoni was forced to retire during the Auckland trials after suffering a concussion while tackling. Photo / Photosport Two weeks after his concussion, he was contacted by the organisers asking him to compete in the final as a wildcard – bringing with it a free trip to Dubai, with Runit covering costs of flights, accommodation and giving the eight competitors spending money. 'You feel like you have something to prove to everybody, that you should be there. I had to remember why I was there, to win for my family.' As he stood 20m away from his opponents, Olosoni said there was 'a lot of fear that came over my body'. Despite this, he won two match-ups to qualify for the final against Australian Samuel Suamili. 'Everyone knows him as the 'Iceman', because he freezes bodies, and I was just like, 'Whoa, calm down'.' The final was called off after three of the six runs, when it was determined Suamili was too dazed to continue. Emotion overcame Olosoni, who burst into tears as his arm was raised in victory. 'It felt like the weight off my shoulders was lifted. I was just relaxed and tears were coming down my eyes. I was just appreciative to the people who were right by my side, my wife and God, as well as my little sister who flew out too. 'Wouldn't you regret not reaching your potential? Imagine that you reach 70-years-old and you think, 'I should've done this'. The worst thing [that could happen] is that you learn from it.' As for his A$200,000 prize, Olosoni said he's given away about $32,000 to family and friends, but hasn't touched the rest, and had enlisted the help of financial advisers to help him long term. Vulangi Olosoni said he's given about $32k of his prize to family and friends, but hasn't touched the rest. Photo / Sylvie Whinray The Herald understands Runit's next event will be held in the United States in the coming months, but organisers say it is yet to be confirmed. Olosoni said they were trying to push the next event further out so competitors would have more time to prepare. He hadn't decided if he would compete at the next event. 'My biggest choice that I'm thinking about right now is if it's worth it. If I did get chosen again, I would have to make sure that I get income before I even go. I've got to make sure that my family is looked after.'
RNZ News
04-08-2025
- RNZ News
RunIt: From backyard collision game to a cultural lightning rod
Experts have called for RunIt to be banned. Photo: RNZ Pacific / RunIt / Supplied RunIt, originally a backyard variation of bull rush, involves two players sprinting and colliding, and it has evolved into a global phenomenon, albeit a controversial one. Experts have called for RunIt to be banned and a 19-year-old from Palmerston North died during a backyard RunIt-style event . RunIt safety spokesperson Billy Coffey told RNZ earlier this year that the two people who got concussion at an Auckland event used "illegal" techniques . "We had two concussions out of our eight runners, and those two concussions, the first one was from a guy who was an American-based and he led with his head, and the second one was the same concept." Competitors were required to wear mouthguards, he said, but headgear was optional. RUNIT Auckland. Trusts Stadium. Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport "We've got an ambulance on site. We've got liability. Everything's covered. There's waivers, medicals beforehand, medicals after. There's an ambulance on site." Veteran sports commentator and former rugby league player Fauono Ken Laban told Pacific Waves he thought RunIt was a "dreadful event". "I think the so-called courage and toughness that they try to sell the event on, I think, is fake," he said. "Those kind of contacts and those kind of tackles in rugby union and and in rugby league were outlawed years ago. "I'm not even going to call it a sport, because it's not an established sport." But not everyone agrees. Auckland-based Pacific community leader Pakilau Manase Lua said he could see the attraction for Polynesian males in particular. "It's the attraction of being able to use their God-given natural abilities to be explosively impactful and physical in a sport. And I'll call it a sport - that lends itself to big guys that can run fast and are willing to put their bodies on the line," he said. "We can talk about the ethical stuff around possible injuries and all that sort of stuff. But there's an element of risk in any sport, even rugby league, we all know - they're all well governed. They're all structured and have policies, protocols, procedures, and all that sort of stuff around head injuries. "But the attraction is also the money." He said his personal view is "you can't ban it". He said he does not condone the backyard ones that don't have a lot of safety precautions. "But those that are well organised, that have medical staff in place and that people know the risks - I think if you ban it, you'll make it go underground. "These are things that a lot of young people should be educated about, the around particularly head injuries, because at the end of the day, you see the same collisions in the NFL, in the NRL and rugby union, across any sport, boxing. "And then you've got other sports, like the Nitro Circus, where they've got guys doing three double somersaults on motorbikes that you can instantly get killed, break your neck, crush your spine if it goes wrong. So there's element of risk in anything. "But I think it's about education, organisation and safety." Auckland-based Pacific community leader Pakilau Manase Lua says RunIt allows Pasifika men the opportunity "to use their God-given natural abilities to be explosively impactful and physical in a sport". Photo: Andrew Cornaga / Photosport Niu FM broadcaster and social media personality Regan Foai said he is supportive of the organisation running it. "We've been doing this for a long time - it just hasn't been put on the scale that it is now," he said. "Some of us just enjoy the competitiveness of who is the stronger person on the field, I guess, and it's entertaining for us to watch. "It's just, I guess, part of our nature especially when it comes to the rugby scene as well." Foai recently spoke with New Zealand RunIt heat winner Robbie Tuluatua on-air and asked about the safety debate. "I was like there's a lot of people in the media saying about safety and all that stuff. "He said, 'man, we got briefed well before we got put onto the field; everyone was checked prior, and there was paramedics there; everything was put into place'. "I think a lot of people just jumping in the gun and not just think that we're just running it straight in to each other, and that's it." Associate Professor Lefaoali'i Dr Dion Enari, an expert in sports management, now serves as the Associate Professor of Pacific Heritage at Unitec. He warned that banning the sport could lead to unintended consequences. "You only have to look at it similar to the laws that ban gang patches in public. Doing that hasn't removed gangs from society; in fact, it's actually made it harder for the public to identify who's in a gang and who's not. "So I do believe that it runs the risk of making RunIt Straight go underground, and it being done in even more unsafe circumstances, with no medical personnel there, no sanctions, no safety rules of engagement in place." He said anything can always be improved, but it's about having conversations with the different experts to get advice on safety measures and how it could be done more safely. He said for Pasifika born and raised in the 90s, it was a pastime a lot of them had done as kids. "Especially those of us who had limited resources, a lot of us would then go and make our own fun by playing this, by partaking in RunIt Straight. "It has a childhood nostalgia for a lot of Pacific people. And the physicality aspect of it is also what draws a lot of Pacific people to want to participate in it." New Zealand Management Academies south campus manager John Loau works closely with rangatahi and said they are always looking at clips online. "They're quite entertained with that, with the clashes and when the bodies collide, and the impact that that makes. "You just can't help it when some of the younger ones who are attending training at NZMA that when they look at the thing - well, what do you think, sir? "I said, 'Well, those are some tough bodies. Those are some tough hits. Do you understand the impact on that?' And we just try to walk them through the conversations of how that impacts them physically, and then some of the other injuries that could manifest themselves. And from a mental health standpoint as well." He said Pacific people are physical athletes - built for travelling across the oceans, climbing trees without any aid, or even digging in warfare. "It's really built in our DNA and as our evolution as a people." He also said it's compared with bull rush and able to be organised in a backyard. "Because of that low entry point, it makes it unfortunately accessible to many people to try to take that on. I guess everyone thinks it's a bit harmless until someone actually gets injured. And that's one of the reasons why it's not just prevalent in our communities, but just throughout Aotearoa New Zealand, that people are very entertained by it, because they can participate in this activity, because there is a very low entry point. "So is it an acceptable sport? If people think it is, I challenge those who support it to show us how one trains for this particular sport. "I haven't seen much of that which is one of the biggest criticisms we see with established sports like the UFC, like in the NRL, like in the rugby union space and others."
