Viral collision sport offers US$200,000 prize despite head injury warnings

Organisers of a viral full-contact sport are offering US$200,000 in prize money for their next event, despite warnings from a neuroscientist and concussion expert about the dangers of the social media-driven challenge.

The RUNIT Championship League announced the prize pool in an Instagram post on Sunday, just weeks after the death of a 19-year-old in New Zealand from a critical head injury during a similar tackle game.

Described by RUNIT as “the world’s fiercest, new collision sport”, the contest sees two men – one carrying a rugby ball – run directly at each other.

While the rules are intended to prevent head contact, footage shows this is not always the case.

Professor Alan Pearce, a concussion expert at Swinburne University, said repeated head trauma can lead to long-term cognitive issues and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain condition.

He also warned about the immediate risk of second impact syndrome.

He said: “If a younger person has an injury but doesn’t understand they’ve got a concussion and then a second later they get a second impact, that’s catastrophic.”

Experts say concussions can occur even without a direct blow to the head.

RUNIT says the competition was “born to go viral” and has generated “tens of millions of views” on social media, with amateur versions also appearing online.

The company has 180,000 Instagram followers and has held trials and training sessions in Auckland on 19 and 21 May, as well as a competition in Melbourne on 30 April, where US$20,000 in prize money was awarded.

Radio New Zealand reported in May that RUNIT has a 20 per cent concussion rate.

The death of the New Zealand teenager followed his participation in a tackle game police said was “based on a social-media-driven trend” where people engage in full-contact collisions without protective equipment.

Over the weekend, RUNIT asked its followers to guess the location of its next event using the hashtag #runitgoingglobal. While its website previously listed shows in New Zealand, the United States, Saudi Arabia and England, those listings have since been removed.

Victorian Liberal MP Moira Deeming attended the Melbourne event but left during an interval after witnessing a participant being knocked unconscious and hitting his head on a concrete floor.

She told The Guardian: “I know there are issues with concussion in many sports.

“I didn’t want to make a scene or offend them, but I just personally couldn’t handle seeing and hearing them get hurt.”

Melbourne Storm forward Nelson Asofa-Solomona, who initially promoted the event, has reportedly withdrawn his support due to concerns over safety protocols. He is now promoting an alternative game called Big Steppa, where players score tries and defenders attempt to stop them with a two-handed touch.

Rugby Australia told Code Sports it “does not condone the concept” and “wants absolutely nothing to do with it.”

New Zealand Rugby League said it was “concerning to see people in these events putting themselves at risk of serious injury.”

Several companies that were previously listed as RUNIT’s “partners” no longer appear on the website. One has said they only sponsored the first event.

Ultra Tune and Foot Locker, the most high-profile brands associated with RUNIT, did not respond to questions about their ongoing support.

RUNIT has credited Foot Locker with supplying gear and gift cards for prizes, and the Ultra Tune logo has appeared on players’ shirts, event signage and social media.

The sport has gained popularity among members of the Pacific Island diaspora, some of whom say it echoes childhood games.

Two formal competitions have now emerged: Run It Straight 24, which claims to be the original, and RUNIT, which calls itself the “home of collisions”.

On Instagram, RUNIT has stated that “safety is paramount”.

It said: “We are committed to the health, safety, and wellbeing of every athlete who represents our brand.

“We recognise that competing at the highest level comes with physical risks, and we firmly believe that no athlete should bear the burden of those risks alone.”

The organisation says it covers medical expenses “directly related to injuries sustained while competing” and compensates players for lost wages.

During competitions, players run into each other four times per match.

The organiser of rival competition Run It Straight 24 has said they will now require participants to wear head and mouth protection and will have paramedics and ambulances on standby at future events.