A 19-year-old New Zealander died of a “head trauma” suffered in a plating game inspired by social media with friends, police announced.
The young man, identified in local media as being Ryan Setterthwaite, died on Monday in the hospital after a match of “Run It Straight” in the city of Palmerston North.
Intended to recreate collisions seen in rugby, the game has two players – one with a ball, the other the plateau – loads at full speed to turn over without protective equipment.
“We urge that anyone who plans to participate in a match or an event like this to examine significant security and injury risks,” police spokesman Rossham said on Tuesday.
“Although it is an impromptu game with friends, not a planned event, this tragic result highlights the security problems inherent in such an activity.”
He added that it was not a police deal, but the police “would continue to undertake surveys in the name of the coroner”.
“Run It Strawht” has long been played with casualness in Australia and New Zealand long, but recently took off as online trend and was approved by certain professional rugby players, despite the warnings of the criticisms he could give to players trauma and brain lesions of players.
On social networks, the challenges “run it straight” show that young men and students were taking care of each other while their friends look. In some videos, the participants were seen vanishing after being struck.
As the popularity of the game increased, some began to organize their own tournaments – although it is not clear how they are regulated.
Such a tournament, the Runit Championship League, made its debut in Auckland this month after being detained in Australia for the first time in March.
On its website, the organizers described the game as the “Fiercest and New Collision Sport”.
The League attracted more than 1,000 people to the Auckland trustee arena while men clashed for a price of around $ 13,000 (£ 9,500).
Some participants were injured in their matches, and a video has shown that a man seeming to have a crisis after colliding with his rival.
But the organizers of Runnit Championship League promised to return next month with an even more important price.
Kimami Ngaluafe, the organizer of Up The Guts NZ, another event “Run It Straight” in New Zealand, says that the game has long been popular in the country, attracting five-year-old boys to men in their forties.
“It is a national sport of the Kiwi backyard. The boys are currently playing as we are talking about,” he told the BBC.
But the death of Satterthwaite is a reminder of the importance of security, says Ngaluafe. He adds that players should wear protective headgear – which many do not currently have – and have observers to prevent their head from hitting the ground.
“In New Zealand, children play this kind of game every day. They deserve to be guided properly and have shown how to do it in the right way,” he said.
