Big risks in students' game

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

AN old game that causes participants to faint has caused concern at one Gisborne school.

Campion College issued a warning in their end-of-term newsletter letting students and parents know the dangers of the fainting game.

Principal Paul McGuinness says the game has gone by many names over the years and is played by one person hyperventilating while another applies pressure to the chest — resulting in a lack of oxygen to the brain and then fainting.

“We met with the younger students and explained what happens to the body and to make them aware of the danger that comes with the game. The newsletter was just to reinforce this with conversations with parents at home.”

Mr McGuinness says some parents had come to the school raising the issue of the game.

“I decided it had gone wide enough and the students involved did not really see the danger. The game has been around since we were kids and with the internet, the information is all readily available. There have also been a number of deaths contributed to it.

“Part of the problem is when you highlight something, it is a fine line being keeping students informed and drawing students in.”

The game is widely spread on the internet, turning up more than half a million search results from Youtube videos, to a Wikipedia page and countless stories warning against the practice.

Mr McGuinness says the school is hopeful that by increasing students’ understanding, they will realise the dangers and not get involved.