Stacey Mowbray: Headway CEO voices concerns as Runit Championship League debuts in Auckland

Health professionals have voiced concerns as the Runit Championship League makes its debut in Auckland.

The controversial new combat sport has players running full force at each other.

Stacey Mowbray, Headway CEO, says this sport presents high risks of brain injury - and the research agrees.

"One thing that worries us is - have these people been fully informed? Listening to people involved in it, they didn't actually seem to realise there was a difference...we want to educate people."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Do you remember that controversial new sport run it which
we've talked about on the show. It basically involves a
ball carrier, somebody carrying a ball and a tackler running
straight at each other from twenty meters apart. Now, the
first official trial of it in New Zealand happened in
Auckland last night, and the next one's happening tomorrow. And
we're going to talk to the guys who were involved
in the competition and when did they pull out? Or

(00:21):
probably what about ten minutes ago? Now it was a
little bit more she reckons five Now it was year seven.
Split the difference seven and a half minutes ago or thereabouts.
So I just said, no, we don't want to talk
to you anymore. So that's fine. Speak instead to CEO
of Headway, Stacey Mobra Headways, a Concussion and Brain and
Jury charity charity.

Speaker 2 (00:37):
Hey, Stacy Chowder, Heather, thanks for having me on.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
Yeah, it's very lovely to talk to you. Opportunities they
why not take them? Now? You don't like this game?

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Why is that? No? I just and we think Headway thinks,
but also you know we're in contact and we took
work really closely with the researchers here in New Zealand,
and what we're seeing is something that presents extremely high
of brain injury.

Speaker 1 (01:01):
Why are they doing it?

Speaker 2 (01:04):
Oh? I think you'd have to Well, you know, I
think that's the biggest society or issue, isn't it? Why
this is attractivel why they're doing it? But you know,
I would just really say that I'm calling this a
sport undermines the work done by our sporting codes, you
know that they've done over many years than they continue
to do to try to mitigate the risks. This isn't
a sport. This is literally you know, I don't know

(01:29):
an activity words for it. Well, I think it's more
a spectacle and entertainment, you know, unprotected head impacts for
the entertainment of others.

Speaker 1 (01:38):
Stacey. Now, I know you guys want the venue to
stop hosting them, and you're speaking out against the stuff.
But these people are adults, right, I mean, people do
stupid things. Should we not accept that they have some
agency over their own stupid behavior?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
Yeah? And you know you're right. We wouldn't want to
live in a country where we couldn't make choices, right,
But one thing that worries us is have these people
been fully informed? Listening to you know, people involved with it,
they didn't actually seem to realize that there was a
difference between you know, that you could get a concussion
without a knockout, as you know heads when we want

(02:15):
to educate people around concussion, we want to make it
clear you can be concussed without a knockout, and that
a knockout, you know, is really significant. So that that's
our worry that people don't actually know what they're putting theirselves,
how they're putting themselves at risk, and also the long
term consequences of potential brain injury. But also you know,

(02:36):
I think it starves wrong people and what they're seeing
and what the message is they're getting from this being
on TikTok and Instagram.

Speaker 1 (02:43):
Yeah, Stacy, thanks for talking to us. Appreciate it. Stacy Mowbray,
who is the CEO of Headway.

Speaker 2 (02:48):
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Speaker 1 (02:52):
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