Two months after being shut down in court, a controversial and brutal sporting event has announced its triumphant return.
An edition of the Run Nation Championship shut down in September by the NSW Supreme Court will be re-run on November 28 at Sydney's famous Royal Randwick Racecourse, organisers have announced on Instagram.
Ticket-holders for the original event were left disappointed when Justice Andrew Coleman ruled it was a combat sport under state law, which required a different form of regulation.
"The wording in the code describing the contact as a 'tackle' cannot alter the fact RNC (Run Nation Championship) is a collision sport," Justice Coleman said in his judgment.
A combat sport is one where "the primary objective of each combatant ... is to strike, kick, hit, grapple with, throw or punch one or more other combatants".
Organisers attempted to argue the so-called "run-it-straight" event - in which competitors have to run directly at each other and try to "win" the collision - was not required to be regulated by the NSW Combat Sports Authority.
Run-it-straight contests have grown in popularity in recent years with contests being widely viewed by young rugby league fans on social media.
The announcement of the relaunch of the physically brutal event comes a week before a NSW parliamentary committee is set to inquire into how to better regulate emerging combat sports.
Bare-knuckle boxing and power slap events, along with collision contests like Run Nation, were some of the sports rising in popularity requiring appropriate monitoring and safeguards, the authority said in its submission to the committee.
Backyard and underground contests are a particular concern for both the regulator and brain trauma experts due to the significant dangers the sports pose for participants.
Ryan Satterthwaite - a 19-year-old from New Zealand - died of a serious head injury sustained during an impromptu game of run-it-straight with friends in 2019.
"This ‘super-stimulus’ form (of) violence cannot be tolerated in our society, nor should we risk parental and social media exposure to children," cognitive neurologist Rowena Mobbs submitted to the inquiry.
For November's event to be legally able to go ahead, Run Nation will need to apply to the regulator for a permit and abide by the rules for staging a combat sports event.
Run Nation chief executive Tremaine Fernandez had promised the September ruling would be merely a speed bump in the sport's progress.
"RNC is here to stay and ... we're excited to work with the Combat Sports Authority and the opportunities that may bring," Mr Fernandez said.
Multiple former NRL players are connected with Run Nation including former Sydney Roosters forward Dylan Napa and ex-Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs enforcer Sam Kasiano.
