Although now played in a handful of&nbsp;other countries, <em>oina </em>is a sport by and large&nbsp;particular to Romania. Vaguely resembling baseball, <em>oina </em>is played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field similar in size to a football or rugby&nbsp;pitch. Points are scored by the batting team hitting the ball into certain areas, but can also be scored by the fielding team if they throw (and hit) the ball at a running batsman.<br /> <br /> Allegedly played by shepherds for centuries the game was first codified in 1899, and for a time was obligatory in all Romanian schools. It then all but&nbsp;disappeared in the early fifties, although a couple of (politically motivated) revivals were attempted in the 1980s.<br /> <br /> Spearheading a new attempt to make the game popular is&nbsp;the Romanian Oina&nbsp;Federation, which now organises a number of tournaments aorund the country&nbsp;each summer.<br /> <br /> The first of these (the King&#39;s&nbsp;Cup; <em>Cupa Regului</em>) is to be held on Friday&nbsp;May 6th and Saturday May 7th at Romania&#39;s National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest. Four teams (<em>Straja Bucuresti</em>,&nbsp;<em>Frontiera Tomis Constanta</em>,&nbsp;<em>Energia Rimnicelu Buzau</em> and&nbsp;<em>Politehnica Cluj</em>)&nbsp;will play two semi-finals on Friday (at 16:00 and 17:30) while the final takes place on Saturday at 11:00.<br /> <br /> Entrance is free.