Latest news with #InspectorRossGrantham
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
New Zealand teenager dies after imitating a new tackling game trending on social media
A 19-year-old New Zealand man has died after imitating with friends a new tackling game trending on social media in which competitors run at each other and collide while wearing no protective equipment. Police confirmed Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a head injury on Sunday while playing a backyard game with friends in the North Island city of Palmerston North. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries. Area police commander Inspector Ross Grantham described Satterthwaite's death as 'a huge tragedy' and urged others to 'consider the significant safety and injury risks' of the game which is known as RUNIT or RUNIT Straight. 'A young man lost his life as a result of participating in what I understand to be a social media frenzy,' Grantham said. 'While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner,' Grantham said. 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. 'While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity.' RUNIT is based loosely on the contact elements of rugby union, rugby league or the NFL and involves two competitors, a runner and a tackler, running at each other and colliding on a 20 metre by four metre (65 foot by 13 foot) area known as a battlefield. Organizers have promoted the event as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport.' The game has grown in social media popularity through the Australian RUNIT Championship League which offers cash prizes to competitors. Two trial events in Auckland in recent weeks saw eight men compete for 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($12,000) in front of more than 1,000 spectators. Winners were expected to go into a championship event next month with prize money of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars ($150,000). Two other events in Auckland were cancelled when organizers were unable to obtain permits. The RUNIT Championship League released a statement to the New Zealand news website Stuff on Tuesday, saying it 'does not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions.' 'This is tragic news and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ryan. 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.' RUNIT has been strongly condemned by experts in head injuries who say competitors run a high risk of a serious brain injury.
National Post
4 days ago
- General
- National Post
New Zealand man dies imitating collision 'sport' trending on social media
Article content WELLINGTON, New Zealand — A 19-year-old New Zealand man has died after imitating with friends a new tackling game trending on social media in which competitors run at each other and collide while wearing no protective equipment. Article content Article content Police confirmed Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a head injury on Sunday while playing a backyard game with friends in the North Island city of Palmerston North. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries. Article content Area police commander Inspector Ross Grantham described Satterthwaite's death as 'a huge tragedy' and urged others to 'consider the significant safety and injury risks' of the game which is known as RUNIT or RUNIT Straight. Article content Article content 'A young man lost his life as a result of participating in what I understand to be a social media frenzy,' Grantham said. 'While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner,' Grantham said. Article content 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. 'While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity.' Article content RUNIT is based loosely on the contact elements of rugby union, rugby league or the NFL and involves two competitors, a runner and a tackler, running at each other and colliding on a 20 meter by four meter (65 foot by 13 foot) area known as a battlefield. Article content Article content Organizers have promoted the event as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport.' Article content The game has grown in social media popularity through the Australian RUNIT Championship League which offers cash prizes to competitors. Article content Two trial events in Auckland in recent weeks saw eight men compete for 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($12,000) in front of more than 1,000 spectators. Winners were expected to go into a championship event next month with prize money of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars ($150,000). Article content Two other events in Auckland were canceled when organizers were unable to obtain permits. Article content The RUNIT Championship League released a statement to the New Zealand news website Stuff on Tuesday, saying it 'does not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions.' Article content 'This is tragic news and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ryan. 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.' Article content
National Post
4 days ago
- General
- National Post
Teen dies imitating a collision 'sport' trending on social media
A 19-year-old New Zealand man has died after imitating with friends a new tackling game trending on social media in which competitors run at each other and collide while wearing no protective equipment. Article content Article content Police confirmed Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a head injury on Sunday while playing a backyard game with friends in the North Island city of Palmerston North. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries. Article content Article content Area police commander Inspector Ross Grantham described Satterthwaite's death as 'a huge tragedy' and urged others to 'consider the significant safety and injury risks' of the game which is known as RUNIT or RUNIT Straight. Article content Article content 'A young man lost his life as a result of participating in what I understand to be a social media frenzy,' Grantham said. 'While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner,' Grantham said. Article content 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. Article content 'While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity.' Article content RUNIT is based loosely on the contact elements of rugby union, rugby league or the NFL and involves two competitors, a runner and a tackler, running at each other and colliding on a 20 meter by four meter (65 foot by 13 foot) area known as a battlefield. Article content Article content Organizers have promoted the event as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport.' Article content Article content The game has grown in social media popularity through the Australian RUNIT Championship League which offers cash prizes to competitors. Article content Two trial events in Auckland in recent weeks saw eight men compete for 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($12,000) in front of more than 1,000 spectators. Winners were expected to go into a championship event next month with prize money of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars ($150,000). Article content Two other events in Auckland were canceled when organizers were unable to obtain permits. Article content The RUNIT Championship League released a statement to the New Zealand news website Stuff on Tuesday, saying it 'does not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions.' Article content 'This is tragic news and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ryan. 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.' Article content
CBS News
4 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Warnings over viral "RUNIT" sports trend after 19-year-old dies of head injury
Wellington, New Zealand — A 19-year-old New Zealand man has died after taking part in a new tackling game that's trending on social media in which competitors run at each other and collide while wearing no protective equipment. Police confirmed Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a head injury on Sunday while playing a backyard game with friends in the North Island city of Palmerston North. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries. Area police commander Inspector Ross Grantham described Satterthwaite's death as "a huge tragedy" and urged others to "consider the significant safety and injury risks" of the game that is known as RUNIT or RUNIT Straight. "A young man lost his life as a result of participating in what I understand to be a social media frenzy," Grantham said. "While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner." 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. "While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity." RUNIT is based loosely on the contact elements of rugby union, rugby league or the NFL and involves two competitors, a runner and a tackler, running at each other and colliding on a 65 foot by 13 foot area known as a battlefield. The game has grown in social media popularity through the Australian RUNIT Championship League, which offers cash prizes to competitors. Organizers promote the event as "the world's fiercest new collision sport." Two trial events in Auckland in recent weeks saw eight men compete for 20,000 New Zealand dollars ($12,000) in front of more than 1,000 spectators. Winners were expected to go into a championship event next month with prize money of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars ($150,000). Two other events in Auckland were canceled when organizers were unable to obtain permits. The RUNIT Championship League released a statement to the New Zealand news website Stuff on Tuesday, saying it "does not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions." "This is tragic news and our hearts go out to the family and friends of Ryan. 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." RUNIT has been strongly condemned by experts in head injuries who say competitors run a high risk of a serious brain injury. It is by no means the first social media-fueled trend to draw safety warnings after a tragedy. Medical experts have been forced to warn people, and young people in particular, about the risks of everything from inhaling solvents to abusing over-the-counter medications and even snorting condoms.
Sky News
4 days ago
- General
- Sky News
New Zealand teenager dies after being injured in viral tackling game
A 19-year-old has died in New Zealand after being critically injured in a viral tackling game during which participants run full speed at each other head-on. The teenager, named locally as Ryan Satterthwaite, suffered a serious head injury when tackled in Palmerston North on Sunday afternoon and was taken to hospital by his friends, police said. However, Inspector Ross Grantham confirmed he died on Monday night. "This young man's death is an absolute tragedy and my thoughts are with his family and friends," he said in a statement. The game he and his friends had been playing was based on the "run it straight" game, which has grown in popularity online and sees people compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear. Mr Grantham added: "While this was an impromptu game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic outcome does highlight the inherent safety concerns with such an activity. "We would urge anyone thinking about taking part in a game or event like this to consider the significant safety and injury risks." Police said they are not treating what happened as a criminal matter but will continue to investigate the incident on behalf of the coroner. The viral game is believed to be based on the RUNIT competition, described on its website as the "world's fiercest, new collision sport" which is "born to go viral, built to break limits". It involves two people charging at each other on a field 20 metres long and four metres wide. "Victory belongs to the one who dominates the collision," the website says. Social media is full of videos of people trying out the game. In one video, a man can be seen apparently visibly disorientated and shaking as people help him to his feet. In a statement to New Zealand outlet Stuff Magazine after Mr Satterthwaite's death, RUNIT Championship League said it did "not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions".
