Police issue warning as teenager dies in viral sport craze

Perth Now

3 days ago

Police have issued a warning — and sporting bodies are distancing themselves from the craze — following the death of a teenager who died after taking part in the 'runit straight' tackle game.
Ryan Satterthwaite, 19, was rushed to hospital with serious head injuries and died on Monday night after playing the 'combat sport' which has already been slammed by medical experts.
The name of the game is simple. There is a runner and a tackler and they run at each other at top speed on a 'battlefield' that is 20m x 4m in dimensions. The loser is the one who is knocked out.
Former NRL premiership George Burgess has been promoting the sport which has been backed by an Australian-based organisation called the Runit Championship League.
The sporting trend has gathered a large social media following across and Australia and New Zealand but participants are being cautioned after Satterthwaite's tragic death.
Police Manawatū area commander Inspector Ross Grantham said Satterthwaite (from Palmerston North on New Zealand's North Island) had taken part in an impromptu version of the game and called he death an 'absolute tragedy'. Ryan Satterthwaite tragically died while taking part in the 'run it' tackle trend. Credit: Instagram
'This young man's death is an absolute tragedy and my thoughts are with his family and friends,' Grantham said.
'The tackle game played by the group of friends was based on a social media-driven trend, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear.
'We would urge anyone thinking about taking part in a game or event like this to consider the significant safety and injury risks.
'While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner.'
The death comes after two men were knocked unconscious and required medical attention during a
Last week at a Run It Straight tournament at Auckland's Trust Arena one man was KO'd and another was also knocked out and appeared to have a seizure as they competed for an $18,500 cash prize.
Runit Championship League issued a statement after the teenager's death.
'Any contact sport like boxing, martial arts or combat-style activities should only be held in highly controlled environments, which include professional medical supervision and support,' a spokesperson said.
'All RUNIT events follow established protocols including screening of participants for suitability, strict guidelines around where and how to tackle (between the shoulders and hips only), with qualified medical support and medical assessments conducted both during and after competition.
'We do not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions outlined above in sanctioned RUNIT events.'
New Zealand Rugby has already distanced itself from the craze, saying it 'carried significant risk of serious injury'.
Several health experts have slammed the sport.
Injury prevention expert Professor Patria Hume said: 'It is very clear from the number of concussions from the small number of 'running at each other events' that have occurred, that this is going to result in death.
'Unfortunately it takes a death to make people take notice and to stop these high injury risk activities.
Previously Hume said it was a 'reckless and dangerous spectacle' and 'a step backwards' in safety in sport.
'We've spent years building evidence-based strategies to reduce head and neck injuries in rugby and contact sports. This event ignores all of that,' she said.
After Satterthwaite's death, top sports neuroscientist Dr Alan Pearce a loss of life was sadly inevitable.
'This was a matter of time, really, as sad as that is to say,' Dr Pearce told News Corp.
'The concern is that this can happen at any level. Even in the sanctioned Run It events, someone will probably die in that at some point as well.
'It can't be done safely and when there's kids and teens that see it, they like to copy what they see online, and this is something that absolutely not should be copied.
'It is the biggest 'please do not try this at home' disclaimer, if I've ever seen one'.