Oina

:"For the brachiopod genus, see "Oina (brachiopod).

"Oina" (IPA2|'oj.na) is a Romanian traditional ball sport, similar in many ways to baseball.

History

Oina was first mentioned during the rule of Vlaicu Vodă in 1364, when it spread all across Wallachia. It originated as a game played by shepherds.

In 1899, Spiru Haret, the minister of education decided that "oina" was to be played in schools in Physical education classes. He organized the first annual "oina" competitions.

The Romanian Oina Federation was founded in 1932, and reactivated at the beginning of the 1950s.

Today, there are two Oina Federations: one in Bucharest, Romania and another one in Chişinău, Moldova.

Rules

There are two teams, one that is "at bat" ("la bătaie") and one that is "at catching" ("la prindere").

The game begins with the team "at bat", with one of the players throwing the ball while another player of the same team has to hit it with a wooden bat ("bâtă") and send it as far as he can towards the adversary field. After that, the player has to run the "back-and-forth lanes" ("culoarele de ducere şi întoarcere") that are to be found in the adversary field before the adversary receives the ball from his co-players.

Comparison with baseball

* Same weight of the ball: around 140 grams for both
* Longer and slimmer bat for "oina"
* A game takes only 30 minutes for "oina"
* "Oina" teams have 11 players; Baseball teams have 9 players

ee also

*Oina in Romania
*Sport in Romania
*Baseball

External links

Romanian

* [http://www.oina.ro/ The Oina Association website, created in collaboration with the Romanian Federation of Oina within the purpose of promoting the "Oina" concept as an Romanian national sport]
* [http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/082306/spo_20060823009.shtml JLWS umpire nurtures baseball in Romania (includes brief description of "oina")]