After outcry, ‘world's fiercest' collision sport seeks new markets
The final ends when Sam 'The Ice Man' Suamili is too dazed to continue, leaving Auckland's Vulangi Olosoni, 26, to celebrate the Aus$200,000 ($130,000) first prize with his overjoyed wife and sister. Organisers have big plans for the Runit Championship League, the brainchild of seven young men from Melbourne who have evolved it from a backyard game to a marketable commodity in a matter of months.
Saturday's competition, attended by just a few hundred fans, was backed by several sponsors with a live-stream featuring ex-NRL pro George Burgess, a figurehead for the sport. Its rapid rise has been controversial, however. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates after calls to ban it following trials in New Zealand, where a teenager died playing a copycat version last month.
Kevin Proctor receives medical attention after a tackle during the RUNIT Championship League.
'Honourable'
According to Lou Sticca, a football agent and consultant promoter who brought the tournament to Dubai, the next stop is the United States. 'It's a contact sport. Americans love contact sport. This is tailor-made,' he told AFP. 'It's two gladiators. It's actually quite honourable. You've got two guys similar size, similar weight. There's a lot of technique,' he added.
Runit, which bills itself as the 'world's fiercest new collision sport', is contested on a track 20 metres (65 feet) long and four metres wide. The athletes, typically with a rugby background and the build of a heavyweight boxer, have four runs at each other taking turns to hold a rugby ball. The winner is the man judged to 'dominate' the contest.
Two doctors and three other medics were pitchside in Dubai, with two ambulances waiting outside, according to Sticca. The players, mostly New Zealanders, had medical checks including head scans before flying out and will be assessed again on their return, he said. 'We're engaging proper legal experts on concussion and as we grow the sport, we'll get experts in concussion at other sports,' Sticca said. 'We'll do whatever we can to play our part in ensuring the health and safety of our combatants.'
'Unacceptable threat'
However, not everyone is convinced. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Runit a 'dumb thing to do', while the New Zealand Medical Journal said it was 'engineered for injury'. 'It is a ritualized, high-risk physical collision that poses an unacceptable threat to life and wellbeing,' an editorial said this week. 'As trauma clinicians, we warn unequivocally: Run It Straight is a mechanism for significant acute and long-term injury,' the journal added.
Concerns over concussion have prompted new measures in several sports including the rugby codes as scores of retired players report serious health problems. Tania Mayne, a Dubai-based neurophysiotherapist who specializes in concussion, said the science was clear on impacts to the head. 'World Rugby has been so outspoken about how a contact should take place in a match,' she told AFP, referring to rugby union's governing body. 'This goes against everything out there.'
Mayne added: 'I would just encourage people not to get involved and read what's out there. There's so much information about concussion in sport.'
Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease caused by repeated blows to the head, is known to trigger violent moods, dementia and depression. Injuries from head knocks have also been linked to disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. However, Sticca said Runit was being unfairly singled out. 'Any contact sport has got the same issues. It's just that we're only hearing about this because it suits the agenda,' he said. 'We don't care about the critics, we care about the combatants. We care about making Runit a bigger, better sport. Simple as that.' — AFP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Kuwait Times
an hour ago
- Kuwait Times
Sabalenka tells troubled Zverev to talk to family about mental health
LONDON: Germany's Alexander Zverev plays a forehand return to France's Arthur Rinderknech during their men's singles first round tennis match. — AFP LONDON: World number one Aryna Sabalenka has urged Alexander Zverev to talk to his family about his mental health issues before they 'destroy' him. German world number three Zverev opened up about his mental struggles, saying he felt 'alone' and 'empty' after a shock Wimbledon first-round defeat against France's Arthur Rinderknech on Tuesday. 'Maybe for the first time in my life I'll probably need it,' the 28-year-old told reporters when asked if he would see a therapist to help with his problems. 'I've been through a lot of difficulties. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy in everything that I do. It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well.' The three-time Grand Slam finalist's cry for help brought a sympathetic response from top-seeded women's star Sabalenka. Speaking after her Wimbledon second-round win against Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic on Wednesday, the Belarusian revealed she used to speak to a therapist, before deciding it was better to share her problems with her family. Reigning US Open champion Sabalenka, 27, believes Zverev should follow the same path. 'Well, I had a therapist five years in my career. I stopped maybe in 2022. But it's actually crazy to hear from someone like Alexander because he surrounded himself with the family, you know?' Sabalenka said. 'It's really important to talk openly about whatever you're dealing with. Especially if you have your family, talk about what are you experiencing because if you're going to keep it inside, it's just going to destroy you. 'I think that's kind of like something happening to him. He just needs to open up to whoever is close to him. Like I think family is the best, people who can accept whatever you're dealing with.' Zverev's frank admission sparked concerns about his welfare and Sabalenka said being more open is the only way to feel positive. 'The moment you start talk about your problems, you kind of start realizing a lot of things. It's helping to solve them,' she said. 'So he just has to be a bit more open, not only to himself but just like open to his family, team, just so everyone is aware what is going on through his mind. That's the most important. 'Like me with my team, we always talk a lot. So that's why I don't need a therapist, because I have my team. We can talk about whatever. I know they're not going to judge me. They're not going to blame me. They're just going to accept it, and we are just going to work through. This is the best advice I can give Sascha.' — AFP
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
After outcry, ‘world's fiercest' collision sport seeks new markets
DUBAI: Under bright lights and cameras in Dubai, two large men charge at each other down a narrow, plastic pitch, colliding head-on with a bone-jarring thud that sends one of them sprawling. It's the start of a night of thumps, grunts and head injuries at Runit, the rugby-inspired competition that has quickly drawn a social media following and alarm from health experts. The injury-count is high: three of the 12 players are withdrawn with suspected concussion, including a sickening hit that leaves ex-National Rugby League pro Kevin Proctor writhing on the ground. The final ends when Sam 'The Ice Man' Suamili is too dazed to continue, leaving Auckland's Vulangi Olosoni, 26, to celebrate the Aus$200,000 ($130,000) first prize with his overjoyed wife and sister. Organisers have big plans for the Runit Championship League, the brainchild of seven young men from Melbourne who have evolved it from a backyard game to a marketable commodity in a matter of months. Saturday's competition, attended by just a few hundred fans, was backed by several sponsors with a live-stream featuring ex-NRL pro George Burgess, a figurehead for the sport. Its rapid rise has been controversial, however. The event was held in the United Arab Emirates after calls to ban it following trials in New Zealand, where a teenager died playing a copycat version last month. Kevin Proctor receives medical attention after a tackle during the RUNIT Championship League. 'Honourable' According to Lou Sticca, a football agent and consultant promoter who brought the tournament to Dubai, the next stop is the United States. 'It's a contact sport. Americans love contact sport. This is tailor-made,' he told AFP. 'It's two gladiators. It's actually quite honourable. You've got two guys similar size, similar weight. There's a lot of technique,' he added. Runit, which bills itself as the 'world's fiercest new collision sport', is contested on a track 20 metres (65 feet) long and four metres wide. The athletes, typically with a rugby background and the build of a heavyweight boxer, have four runs at each other taking turns to hold a rugby ball. The winner is the man judged to 'dominate' the contest. Two doctors and three other medics were pitchside in Dubai, with two ambulances waiting outside, according to Sticca. The players, mostly New Zealanders, had medical checks including head scans before flying out and will be assessed again on their return, he said. 'We're engaging proper legal experts on concussion and as we grow the sport, we'll get experts in concussion at other sports,' Sticca said. 'We'll do whatever we can to play our part in ensuring the health and safety of our combatants.' 'Unacceptable threat' However, not everyone is convinced. New Zealand's Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called Runit a 'dumb thing to do', while the New Zealand Medical Journal said it was 'engineered for injury'. 'It is a ritualized, high-risk physical collision that poses an unacceptable threat to life and wellbeing,' an editorial said this week. 'As trauma clinicians, we warn unequivocally: Run It Straight is a mechanism for significant acute and long-term injury,' the journal added. Concerns over concussion have prompted new measures in several sports including the rugby codes as scores of retired players report serious health problems. Tania Mayne, a Dubai-based neurophysiotherapist who specializes in concussion, said the science was clear on impacts to the head. 'World Rugby has been so outspoken about how a contact should take place in a match,' she told AFP, referring to rugby union's governing body. 'This goes against everything out there.' Mayne added: 'I would just encourage people not to get involved and read what's out there. There's so much information about concussion in sport.' Chronic traumatic encephalopathy, a progressive disease caused by repeated blows to the head, is known to trigger violent moods, dementia and depression. Injuries from head knocks have also been linked to disorders such as motor neurone disease, early onset dementia, epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. However, Sticca said Runit was being unfairly singled out. 'Any contact sport has got the same issues. It's just that we're only hearing about this because it suits the agenda,' he said. 'We don't care about the critics, we care about the combatants. We care about making Runit a bigger, better sport. Simple as that.' — AFP
Kuwait Times
a day ago
- Kuwait Times
Saudi Arabia to host Italian Super Cup in December
RIYADH: AC Milan's Italian defender Davide Calabria lifts the trophy as he and his teammates celebrate winning the Italian Super Cup final football match against Inter Milan at the Al-Awwal Park in Riyadh on January 6, 2025. - AFP ROME: Next season's Italian Super Cup will be played for the fourth time in Saudi Arabia but in December instead of January, the president of the Italian League announced on Tuesday. "The dates for the Super Cup are December 18 and 19 for the semi-finals, and the 22 for the final," said Lega Serie A boss Ezio Simonelli after the governing body's general meeting. "We don't yet know where these matches will be played, either in Riyadh or Jeddah. The choice will be made by the Saudis. I would be more in favour of Jeddah, but we don't have the option to choose." Since 2023, the 'Supercoppa Italiana' has pitted four teams against each other — the reigning Serie A champions, the runners-up, and the winners and runners-up of the Italian Cup. The 2025 edition will include Serie A holders Napoli, second-placed Inter Milan, Italian Cup winners Bologna and losing finalists AC Milan. AC Milan won last season's Italian Super Cup for their first trophy since 2022, defeating their arch-rivals Inter 3-2. Simonelli also discussed the possibility of relocating an Italian league match between AC Milan and Como to Australia next February. "We have submitted an official request to the Italian Federation, UEFA, and FIFA," he said. "It's a long and complex process, but we haven't received any negative feedback so far. "We came up with this idea because San Siro will be closed for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. "We have an obligation to find another stadium and we're trying to turn it into an opportunity by promoting our championship abroad," he added. — AFP
