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.