As Kiwis, we are all aware of the run it straight challenge, in which two people run at each other at full force, and whoever is left standing is the winner.
However, the new unit championship league coming to NZ is causing many concerns, including a leading neuroscientist who is condemning the new sport.
This comes after footage emerged over the weekend of a man being knocked out and suffering an apparent seizure during an event in Australia as hundreds watched on.
Labelled as a “new combat sport” that attempts to replicate big hits from league, union and AFL it features opposing individuals, a ball runner and a tackler that run full speed at each other with the goal of being the last standing.
One of New Zealand’s leading neuroscientists and CTE expert, Dr Helen Murray, said there is clearly “a high risk of head injury in this event.”
“From a CTE standpoint, we know that exposure to repeated head acceleration events is the biggest risk factor for CTE pathology, and therefore finding ways to reduce these impacts in contact sports is a priority for player safety,” Murray said.
“It appears there is no attempt to mitigate head acceleration events in this activity and the risk of significant injury is high given the intent to collide, so I do not support it.”
However, the Runit Championship League said they were not associated with the people in the video and that they were “professionally arranged”.
“The video we felt was horrendous, and backyard events such as that one were very disappointing to see.”
“Yes, a knockout can potentially occur, but this is not the aim of our game. The aim is to dominate contact, whether you bump someone over or land a good clean hit,” organisers added.
The Runit Championship League is due to host its inaugural live tournament in Melbourne on Wednesday, with eight people, including NRL and Super Rugby stars, competing for a grand prize of A$20,000 ($21,500).
Photo Credit: Newstalk ZB
