Oina is a traditional Romanian sport similar to baseball that was first played in the 14th century. It later became organized with the Romanian Federation being founded in 1932. Gymnast Nadia Comaneci won three gold medals at the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, becoming the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect score of 10. Tennis player Ilie Nastase was the world no. 1 player in 1973-1974, winning 7 Grand Slam titles total in singles and doubles.

1. SPORTS
in
Romania

2. OOiinnăă is a Romanian traditional sport, similar
in many ways to baseball.
It was first mentioned in 1364, when it spread
all across Wallachia. Its origins are disputed,
theories ranging from a shepherd game to a
war game.
In 1899 the minister of education decided that
it was to be played in schools in physical
education classes. He organized the first
annual competitions.
The Romanian Federation was founded in
1932, and was reactivated at the beginning of
the 1950s, after a brief period when it was
dissolved.
The pitch is a rectangle, 70m long by 32m
wide divided into:
• the in game area, which is 60x32m;
• the batting zone - 5m long - delimited from
the in game area by the batting line;
• the back zone - a 5m long safe zone during
a run - delimited from the in game area by the
back line.
OOIINNAA

3. The attacking side player that has
commenced a run will have to cross the
following four lines in order:
• the start line (the left side of the batting
line);
• the arrival line (the left side of the back
line);
• the return line (the right side of the back
line);
• the escape line (the right side of the batting
line).
The game area is split into the advance and
return triangles and squares.
At the intersection of the lines inside the
game area and the pitch limits or other lines
within the game area, there are circles which
determine the positions of the midfielders
and side players.
The 1m and 3m semicircles are used for
batting and serving.
A waiting line is drawn for attacking players
to wait their turn to bat.

4. PPllaayyeerrss
There are two teams of 11 players, one
attacking side or "at bat" and one defending side
or "at catch". The roles switch at half time.
The defending players are placed in the
following positions:
• 3 midfielders;
• 3 advance side players;
• 3 return side players;
• 1 back player that is free to move within the
back zone
• 1 forward player that is free to move within the
batting zone
The attacking players change roles as the game
progresses.
SSccooppee ooff tthhee ggaammee
The teams have very different roles depending on whether they are at bat or at catch. At bat
players are tasked to open a play and run the lanes until they cross the escape line. At catch
players are tasked to hit the players running the lanes with the ball. There can be a maximum
of 2 players running each lane at the same time. A player can be hit in both lanes once.

5. RRuulleess
The team at bat is selected by a ritual where the players have to grab the bat, thrown by the
referee, and the last one to be able to place at least 4 fingers on the bat wins. 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 and send it as far as he can towards the
adversary field. After that, if the ball is caught by the adversaries, the player can run (if he
wishes, or if he is forced to run by the referee) the advance and return corridors/lanes without
being hit by the defenders. If he stops the ball with his palm, it is not considered a hit. The
player is not allowed to catch the ball, and he must release it immediately. If the player doing a
run is hit he goes out of field and into the back zone, or he finishes his tasks, depending on
which lane he is running.
BBaallll
A spherical ball made of leather, filled with horse, pig,
or bovine hair is used in oină. The ball is around 8 cm
in diameter and 140 grams in senior games and
around 7 cm in diameter and 100 grams in U-18
games.
Comparison with baseball
• Similar weight of the ball: around 140 grams for both
• Longer and slimmer bat for oină
• A game takes only 30 minutes for oină
• Oină teams have 11 players; Baseball teams have 9 players
• In oină, the defense can score by hitting the attacking players that are in game (running the lanes)

6. NNAADDIIAA CCOOMMĂĂNNEECCII
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NNaaddiiaa CCoommăănneeccii is a gymnast, winner of three Olympic
gold medals at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal
and the first female gymnast to be awarded a perfect
score of 1100 in an Olympic gymnastic event.
She is also the winner of two gold medals at the 1980
Summer Olympics in Moscow. She is one of the best-known
gymnasts in the world.
In 2000 she was named as one of the athletes of the
century by the Laureus World Sports Academy.
Nowadays she is active in many charities and international
organizations. In 1999 she became the first athlete to be invited to
speak at the United Nations to launch the Year 2000 International
Year of Volunteers.
In the world of gymnastics, she is the Honorary President of the
Romanian Gymnastics Federation, the Honorary President of
Romanian Olympic Committee, Sports Ambassador of Romania, and
a member of the International Gymnastics Federation Foundation.
She and her husband own the Bart Conner Gymnastics Academy, the
Perfect 10 Production Company and several sports equipment shops.

9. IILLIIEE NNĂĂSSTTAASSEE
1946
IIlliiee NNăăssttaassee is a former world no. 1 professional
tennis player, one of the world’s top players of the
1970s. He was ranked world no. 1 between 1973 and
1974.
He is one of the five players in history to win more
than 100 ATP professional titles (57 singles and 45 in
doubles).
He won seven Grand Slam titles: two in singles, three
in men’s doubles, and two in mixed doubles. He also
won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championship
titles and seven Championship Series titles (1970–73)
He is the second male player to win a Grand Slam
without dropping a set and the first one to achieve this
feat at the French Open (1973).
He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of
Fame in 1991.
In 2005, Tennis magazine ranked him as the 28th-best
player of the preceding 40 years.

11. IIOONN ŢŢIIRRIIAACC
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He first appeared on the international sports scene as
an ice hockey player at the 1964 Winter Olympics.
Shortly after that he switched to tennis as his main
sport.
With fellow Romanian Ilie Năstase he won the men’s
doubles in the 1970 French Open and reached the
Davis Cup finals several times in the 1970s.
After his retirement, he served as coach and manager
for players such as: Ilie Năstase, Guillermo Vilas,
Mary Joe Fernández, Goran Ivanišević and Marat
Safin. He managed Boris Becker from 1984 to 1993.
In 1998 he became president of the Romanian
National Olympic Committee.
Although tennis is now a small part of his portfolio and
occupies only 5% of his time, he has taken particular
pleasure and pride in making Madrid Tennis Open a
combined men’s and women’s event with €7.2 million
in total prize money.
In 2013 he was elected into the International Tennis
Hall of Fame.

12. GGHHEEOORRGGHHEE HHAAGGII
11996655
GGhheeoorrgghhee HHaaggii is a former footballer. He was
one of the best attacking midfielders in Europe
during the 1980s and 1990s and is considered
the greatest Romanian footballer of all time.
He led the Romanian team to its best ever
international performance at the 1994 World
Cup. He still holds the record as Romanian
national team top scorer.
He is one of the few footballers to have played
for both the Spanish rival clubs Real Madrid and
Barcelona.
At Galatasaray, he was both successful and
highly popular among the Turkish supporters.
In November 2003, to celebrate UEFA’s Jubilee,
he was selected as the Golden Player of
Romania by the Romanian Football Federation
as their most outstanding player of the past 50
years.

13. HHEELLMMUUTTHH DDUUCCKKAADDAAMM
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SSTTEEAAUUAA BBUUCCHHAARREESSTT
11998866
Helmuth Duckadam is a
Romanian retired footballer who
played as a goalkeeper.
He was dubbed "the Hero of
Seville" due to his heroics in the
1986 European Cup Final, won by
his main club, Steaua Bucureşti.
Steaua Bucharest football team won the European Champions’
Cup, beating FC Barcelona in Seville 2-0, after penalties. It was
then that goalkeeper Helmuth Duckadam succeeded in saving 4
consecutive penalties, making an impressive entry in the World
Guinness Book of Records.

15. RROOMMAANNIIAANN GGYYMMNNAASSTTSS TTEEAAMM
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Romania became the first country to have its gymnasts take the gold, silver
and bronze medals since the former Soviet Union swept the event in 1960.