New Zealand teenage girl dies in rugby -style viral game

A 19-year-old New Zealander has died of a “serious head injury” underwent in a social media-inspired game to deal with friends, police said.

The young man, identified in local media such as Ryan Satertwait, died at a hospital on Monday after playing Run IT Straight in Palmerston North.

Aims to recreate clashes observed in rugby, the game has two players – one with a ball and the other to charge – loads at full speed to knock off each other without protective equipment.

“We would summon anyone who is thinking of participating in a game or event, such as looking at significant safety and injury risks,” police spokesman Ross Grantham said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Although it was a makeshift game among friends, not a planned event, this tragic result emphasizes inherent problems of safety with such an activity.”

He added that it was not a police issue, but employees would “continue to investigate on behalf of Corrona.”

“Run IT Straight” has long been played casually in Australia and New Zealand, but has recently escaped as a trend online and has been approved by some professional rugs players, despite warnings from critics that it can give players trauma and brain injury.

On social media, the Run IT Straight challenges show that young men and students load each other while their friends watch. In some videos, participants seem to come out after being hit.

As the game’s popularity increased, some began to conduct their own tournaments – although it is not clear how they are adjustable.

One such tournament, the Runit championship, debuts in Auckland this month after being held for the first time in Australia in March.

On their website, the organizers described the game as “the most joyous, new sport for clash”.

The league attracted more than 1,000 people to the Auckland Ravens Arena as the men went with a prize of about $ 13,000 ($ 9,500 British pounds).

Some participants were injured during their matches, and a video showed that one seems to have a seizure after colliding with his opponent.

But the organizers of the Champions League Runit promised to return to the next month with an even more prize.

Kimami Ngalua, the organizer of Up The Guts NZ, another Run IT Straight event in New Zealand, says the game has long been popular in the country, attracting five-year-old boys of men of their 40s.

“It’s a national sport in the Kiwi backyard. The boys are currently playing while we’re talking,” he told the BBC.

But the death of Satterthwaite is a reminder of how important safety is, says G -n ngaluafe. He adds that players have to wear protective hats – which many do not currently do – and have stains around to prevent the impact of their heads.

“In New Zealand, children play this type of game every day. They deserve to be guided properly and show how to do it the right way,” he says.