New Zealand teen dies imitating viral collision ‘sport’
WELLINGTON—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.
Not a criminal matter
“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.”
Rugby
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 4 meter 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). Winners were expected to go into a championship event next month with prize money of up to 250,000 New Zealand dollars ($150,000).
