New Zealand teenager dies after imitating a new tackling game trending on social media
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.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CTV News
8 hours ago
- CTV News
At least one person dead in western Newfoundland plane crash
The RCMP logo is seen in St. John's on June 24, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld DEER LAKE — The Transportation Safety Board has sent investigators to the site of a plane crash in western Newfoundland after a small plane crashed Saturday afternoon. The Transportation Safety Board says a Piper PA-31 Navajo aircraft registered to Kisik Aerial Survey Inc. crashed about a kilometre south of Deer Lake Airport after taking off on a local flight. Kisik Aerial Survey Inc. owner and accountable executive Andrew Naysmith indicated the crash was fatal in a statement on the company's website that says they are 'devastated and heartbroken by this loss.' It's not immediately clear how many people were on board the flight and Naysmith says the company will not release the names of anyone involved. Newfoundland and Labrador RCMP said earlier in a post on social media that the Trans-Canada Highway was closed in both directions in the area of the Deer Lake airport, but the highway has since reopened. The Mounties say they are working with the Transportation Safety Board investigators. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 26, 2025. The Canadian Press
CBC
a day ago
- CBC
Construction trades launch peer-support program to help workers facing mental health challenges
When Shawn Underhill worked as an ironworker, it was his job to check the fit-for-duty box for the crew, a standard part of the daily safety paperwork. "It was a lie," said Underhill, explaining that he and other members of his crew weren't always sober. For decades, Underhill struggled with mental health and addiction, the result of cascading personal tragedies, worksite injuries and painkiller prescriptions. "If I only had someone early on [to] just sit and talk with me … it would have changed things for me," said Underhill, who's now settled in Mission, B.C. That's exactly what he wants to do now for other men and women struggling in the same way he did. Underhill is one of 12 current and former tradespeople across the province, training to be a peer-support worker for a mental-health initiative, led by the Construction Foundation of B.C. (CFBC), called The Forge. It's aimed at the skilled trades, an industry which sees higher-than-average rates of health concerns. On July 31, the CFBC breaks ground on the future headquarters for The Forge in Langford, B.C., just west of Victoria. More than 80 per cent of construction workers report experiencing mental health struggles. Substance abuse rates in the trades are nearly double the national average, according to the CFBC. "If people show up for work who are not OK, it can have catastrophic effects on the job site," said Katherine Davies, VP of operations at Aryze Developments. "You can see mistakes that then lead to safety events, that then lead to massive financial implications for the company." Long shifts, demanding work So why do people in the trades, and particularly tradesmen, struggle more with mental health and addictions? John Oliffe, the Canada Research Chair in men's health promotion at UBC, said long shifts and physically demanding work may contribute to recreational drug use and self-medicating with substances. In an industry where reaching out for help may be seen as a weakness, he said, peer support can be an effective way to normalize conversations about mental health. Trevor Botkin, who is heading up The Forge with CFBC, remembers the culture of toughing it out alone. The former journey carpenter and superintendent said he thought mental-health counselling was "for the birds." Then, his career came into crisis in 2019, when his addiction got out of hand and he narrowly escaped a suicide attempt. Standard mental-health supports are just not resonating with the culture of the construction industry, said Botkin. "We've got all these services… standing outside the construction fence waving in saying, 'Hey, we have help here!'" said Botkin. Peer support, on the other hand, gets past that fence to "put guys with lived experience down there in the dirt … pulling on the rebar and who are actually qualified to have those conversations in a meaningful way." Botkin hopes to launch The Forge by December, by which time peer-support workers will have completed their 40-hour training module, focused on how to listen actively without judging or giving advice. "It's about asking good questions," he said. "We want to keep guys in the driver's seat as much as possible. Those are the decisions that stick."
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Southwest Airlines flight headed to Las Vegas takes dramatic plunge in response to nearby aircraft
A traveler walks through the Southwest Airlines ticketing counter area at the Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, April 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) LAS VEGAS — A Southwest Airline jet heading to Las Vegas from Southern California took a dramatic plunge shortly after takeoff Friday in response to an alert about a nearby plane, injuring two flight attendants, authorities and passengers said. Southwest flight 1496 was responding to an onboard alert about another aircraft in its vicinity, the Federal Aviation Administration said. The FAA is investigating. The crew responded to two air alerts that required the pilot to climb then descend, Southwest said in a statement. The flight departed from Hollywood Burbank Airport just before noon. Passengers posted on social media that the plane took a dramatic drop soon after takeoff. Data from the flight tracking site FlightAware shows it dropped roughly 300 feet (91.44 meters) in 36 seconds. 'Pilot said his collision warning went off & he needed to avoid plane coming at us,' comedian Jimmy Dore posted on X. The plane was in the same airspace near Burbank as a Hawker Hunter Mk. 58 just after noon local time, FlightAware shows. A Hawker Hunter is a British fighter plane. Records show its owned by Hawker Hunter Aviation Ltd, a British defense contracting company. The company didn't immediately respond to messages seeking comment. Mike Christensen, an airport spokesman for Hollywood Burbank, said that neither the control tower or the operations department, which tracks planes departing and arriving, have any record of the Southwest flight plunging in their airspace. Southwest said the flight continued to Las Vegas, 'where it landed uneventfully.' The airline said that it is working with the FAA 'to further understand the circumstances' of the event. This close call is just the latest incident to raise questions about aviation safety in the wake of January's midair collision over Washington, D.C., that killed 67 people. Rio Yamat, The Associated Press
