Latest news with #tacklinggame
National Post
27-05-2025
- 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
27-05-2025
- 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
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Zealand teenager dies imitating collision ‘sport' trending on social media
A 19-year-old New Zealander 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. Ryan Satterthwaite suffered a head injury on Sunday while playing a backyard game with friends in the North Island city of Palmerston North, police said. He died on Monday as a result of his injuries. Area police commander Inspector Ross Grantham described Mr 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,' Mr Grantham said. 'While this is not a criminal matter, police will continue to undertake inquiries on behalf of the coroner.' Mr 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,' he added. 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 (65ft by 13ft) area known as a battlefield. Organisers 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 (£8,800) 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 (£110,000). Two other events in Auckland were cancelled when organisers 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,' it read. RUNIT has been strongly condemned by experts in head injuries who say competitors run a high risk of a serious brain injury.
Yahoo
27-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
New Zealand teenager dies imitating a collision 'sport' trending on social media
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — 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 meter by four meter (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 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. ___ AP sports:
The Guardian
27-05-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
New Zealand teenager dies after tackle game linked to viral Run It Straight challenge
A New Zealand teenager has died after playing a tackling game, believed to have been inspired by a controversial new high impact collision sport trending on social media. Police confirmed the 19-year-old died in hospital on Monday night after he suffered a critical head injury while playing a tackle game with friends in the North Island city Palmerston North on Sunday. 'This young man's death is an absolute tragedy and my thoughts are with his family and friends,' Inspector Ross Grantham said. 'The tackle game … was based on a social media-driven trend, where participants compete in full-contact collisions without protective gear,' he said. Media reports inside New Zealand linked the game to the Run It Straight challenge. The challenge has been gaining traction on social media over recent weeks, with videos on TikTok and Instagram of mostly men running at full-speed into one another clocking up tens of millions of views. '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,' Grantham said. The tragedy follows a championship Run It Straight event hosted in Auckland last week, which resulted in two men retiring due to head injuries. One of the men appeared to have a seizure, RNZ reported. The event's organisers, RUNIT promotes the sport on its website as 'the world's fiercest new collision sport' which rewards 'strength and grit'. More than 1000 people turned up to watch eight men compete for $20,000 prize money, with the winners heading to a final competition next month, to compete for $250,000. In a statement to the Guardian, RUNIT said the teenager's death was tragic. '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,' it said. It said its events screen participants, have strict guidelines around how and where to tackle, conduct medical assessments before and after the competition and have medical staff on hand. 'We do not encourage any copying of the sport as it should only be done under the strict conditions'. Melanie Bussey, a professor in the school of Physical Education, Sport and Exercise Sciences at University of Otago said Run It-style tackles can increase the likelihood of serious brain trauma. Sports associations and governing bodies were working hard to improve the welfare of players and reduce preventable injuries, and the introduction of a high-risk sport seem 'not only counterproductive but deeply concerning', she said. Patria Hume, a Human Performance professor at AUT warned the public about the risk of injury and death from playing the sport. '[The] death was preventable,' she said. 'We need people to stop participating in activities where the intention is to hurt someone.'
