“Are defender ready?” Calls the host.

A thumb up and after moments, two burl men – with no protective gear – run at each other at full speed, before they collide, the surefire sound of meat and bone deficiency.

The crowd conquer a collective roar, some cheering, others.

This is the moment that they are waiting for – and it is actually banking to help the global audience of the Run IT Championship League, which is the adrenaline -fuel energy to help the global audiences “the world’s fierce, new confrontation games”.

It is a supercharged version of a tackle game from each, which has originated in the backyard and school playgrounds of Australia and New Zealand-that is, in the Pacific Islander communities.

A person carrying a ball should “run it directly” on the defender, which is also sprinkling towards them: they are not allowed to duck, obstruct or bypass the tacker.

Videos of the game have recently gone viral, and the founders of the run it league have captivated when they have seen millions of times, won more than thousands of fans, attracted the big -name sponsors, and even inspired rival competitions.

He has held jauts in Melbourne and Auckland, and will be in another Dubai territory on Saturday, taking prize money of $ 200,000 (£ 98,000). His agenda is the next, an extension for the UK and America.

But the basis of support for the league is becoming rival from rapidly significant voices. Medical experts and sports figures are concerned about the physical and mental health effects of the game – which has also become a broad social media craze, already accused of claiming a life.

“It is like shaking a child,” says Peter Satrathweight, whose teenage nephew died after copying a game at a party.

The purpose of the game is simple: the person who is “dominated” over the contact, as is understood by a panel of three judges.

Two of the seven co-founders of the league, Brandon Taua and Stephen Hancock, tell the BBC that they have memories of playing games as teenagers in Melbourne.

“I used to do ‘straight’ in brandon ‘straight’ in Brandon,” says Hancock, saying that the pair usually tries to avoid killing each other directly.

There will be no one at the end of this week, when eight finalists compete for that huge cash prize in the United Arab Emirates.

Hancock said that this is a “game of skill” – ” -[It’s] About all footwork ” – but its violent nature is not denied.

A quick scroll of the league’s social media accounts reflect dozens of quick-threaters, which all explain the explosive action of two men.

In other videos of events, many contestants are knocked on and require immediate treatment.

Taua admits that the game comes with risk, but says that the league has security protocols to minimize them.

The contestants are examined, undergoing a medical assessment – such as blood tests and a physical examination – and they will also have to send a recent video of playing a game themselves that have the facility to deal with. Medical staff are also on the edge of incidents.

“There is an element of danger with surfing, with boxing, and with many other sports,” Taua argues.

For Champion Betham – who won the NZ $ 20,000 earlier this month in the competition in Auckland and gun for the title in Dubai on Saturday – The Element of Danger is a secondary idea.

He told Radio New Zealand at the time, “This is a big blessing for us for a whole pile and whatever is to win for a lot of efforts and for 20k or a few hours of work.”

“We had to pay some loans and fridge and wardrobe, food for our younger people, especially with economy and accessories, such as here in New Zealand. Nothing is cheap these days.”

For a league that includes money, which is only for six months, is impressive. Along with the award fund, contestants’ travel and housing expenses are being paid. An area with 1,600 seats has been booked. The league has a slick social media account, a PR representative and a group of promoters – including antipodian sports stars.

Its initial financial backcars are described as “a group of local investors believing in the product”, but the big names are emerging: a few days before the Dubai event, the League announced that it had acquired a leading sponsor at the online gambling platform Stake.com, which is banned in major markets such as Australia and UK.

Negotiations are also underway with potential American investors, including the American podcaster and the UFC heavyweight which includes a contact associated with Rogan, which Taua states that “will definitely help” the league created an appearance in the US.

They will require big backchers to match their ambitions for the competition, which they argue that only a fleeting social media has more than the tendency.

“This can actually be an event in a game that can sit [in a class] With MMA and Boxing, “Hancock says.

But as Taua and Hancock focus on the future ambitions of the competition, more and more voices are questioning its safety.

“They can also install smoking as a legitimate sport,” says neuroscientist Alan Peyrs.

Peter Satrathwight is uneven, talking to the BBC from New Zealand city in Pamerson North.

“This is not a game,” they say. This is a “dangerous activity” that is designed purely “to hurt the man in front of you.

His 19 -year -old nephew Ryan was celebrating the 21st birthday with friends in a local park, when he decided to try to play on his social media feed.

Ryan made two tackles. Neither he or his friend fell down or his head collided. But as soon as he left, he told his colleagues that he does not feel good, his uncle said.

,[Ryan] It was consistent for a bit, then he lay down and his eyes just rolled back into his head. ,

Friends took him to the hospital, where doctors had to cut a large part from their skulls to reduce the pressure caused by brain inflammation “.

“I looked at her on the ventilator, her chest was going up and down because he was breathing, and it was like ‘get up! Open your eyes’.”

On Monday evening, Ryan’s life support was locked in a hospital room filled with loved ones exactly a day after playing with his comrades.

“It was just an easy struggle,” says Ryan’s uncle, “and it just shows you how delicate life is and how critical your brain is.”

Run says that this contact understands the dangers of the game and takes security seriously. After Ryan’s death, the League posted a video stating that the game is “not for the backyard, not for the road”.

“Don’t try this at home,” he said.

But SatternWaite suspects that the warning will have a great impact.

“I don’t think there is a game in the world that people do not do on the beach, or in their backyard, or in the park.”

This is not just a physical effect that worries about Shanei Pania.

As a samoan in Australia, she often saw school children playing the game a little fun. But the mental health worker fears that it is “a version of manhood where there is silence strength, and violence is a proof of pride”.

“This sends a dangerous message to young men that their price is based on how much pain they can take. If you are not hard, you are not.”

Pennaya says that an attempt to convert into a fascinating audience game of the league refutes the values ​​of many people in the Pacific Islands.

“We are taught to look out for each other … and to make decisions that only serve more than ourselves.”

Their concerns are echoed by a packet experts and a packet of sports figures.

For more than a decade, the world of high -influence sports has been presenting security measures because research develops in brain injuries.

Official bodies including Ragby Australia, New Zealand Ragby have warned people not to participate, the Prime Minister of New Zealand also said that it is a “dumb thing”.

Neuroscientist Pierce argues that it enhances “the most violent aspects of our established game”, while the safety protocols greatly reduce any risk. They say that blood tests and physical examinations cannot predict brain injury, and frightening damage can occur even without a direct hit on the head.

“I can’t see how 25 km is safe without stopping at each other in an hour,” he tells the BBC. “Its as simple as that.”

Dr. Pierce says, there is an immediate attachment danger, the onset of Ryan Satrathwite delayed brain injuries, and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) – a degenerative disease caused by repeated head trauma. They can give birth to cognitive loss, movement disorder, dementia, depression.

,[They’re] Originally using the collision as an entertainment value, which is in fact, is the commercialization of the convention, “he concludes.

But a spokesperson of the league – who argue that it is “not about manhood”, but “strength and skill” – says that the organizers have no intention of slowing down, and they are not very concerned about their critics.

Taua says that what happens in his competitions is “not too different” which you see on television rugby matches, and – with your protocol – it is much safor than many games played in the backyard worldwide.

“This is quite new to the audience and may take some time to get used to see what we have done.”