Despite the RUNIT Championship League amassing nearly 200,000 followers on Instagram quickly, it has faced criticism due to concerns about the competition’s safety.

What is RUNIT?

“Hit hard, stand your ground and inflict damage”, that is the key to winning RUNIT, according to a video on the league’s YouTube channel.

People are worried about the risks the competition presents not just to the health and safety of its participants but also to those who might attempt to replicate what they watch during these events. Source: Getty / Hannah Peters

The video shows vision of big hits and tackles in rugby games alongside sounds of bodies colliding with force.

The league advertised the winner of the Dubai event received $200,000.

Who created RUNIT?

He announced his involvement with RUNIT in the same LinkedIn post about a month ago.

The idea draws inspiration from a game — Run it Straight — which the creators and many other Pacific Islanders have enjoyed in their backyards since childhood.

What are the concerns?

Siliato said she was aware of people having seizures after participating in activities similar to RUNIT competitions and said repeated head knocks could cause chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Both competitors run towards each other in RUNIT, one with the ball and one without. Source: Getty / Hannah Peters

Siliato said a lot of public education and work with different sporting codes had been done in recent years, and “activities like this really bring us backwards”.

In May, Radio NZ reported that a 19-year-old from Palmerston North city on New Zealand’s North Island died after being critically injured playing a tackling game based on RUNIT.

Brain scans

“We’ve had concussion experts that we’ve engaged to help us identify ways to add value to the sports.”

Competitors get four runs, and judges decide the winner. Source: Getty / Hannah Peters

Sticca urged people not to emulate what they see RUNIT competitors do.