Sixteen years before the world would “Come Together in Calgary” for the 1988 Olympic Winter Games, the world came together in Calgary, Canada, for the 1972 World Figure Skating Championships. The pin issued to mark the occasion was the first World Championships pin produced using an epoxy coating or top-filling. The hexagonal shape and bright orange color create a striking pin that stands out from the rest.
The Calgary pin was given only to ISU delegates, competitors, judges, officials, and skating union officials. This is according to a late U.S. national and world-level judge who served as the U.S. judge for the men’s event at the 1972 Worlds. The pin has become a rarity in the world of figure skating pin collecting, not only for its design but because of its limited production and distribution.
The hexagonal shape and bright orange color create a striking pin that has become a rarity in the world of figure skating pin collecting ...
A fluid and modern interpretation of a figure skater executing a spiral, in black against the orange background, defines the 1972 pin. The familiar maple leaf symbol of Canada, superimposed over a globe, signifies the host nation’s identity and the worldwide reach of the championship. The event is noted simply, “World’s 72 Calgary.”
The 1972 event was notable as the last World Championship skated together by Irina Rodnina and Alexei Ulanov, who by that time had amassed an Olympic gold, four world titles, and four European titles. Rodnina would go on to partner with Alexander Zaitsev and continue to dominate pairs skating through the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, with only a brief respite in 1979 when she and Zaitsev took off the season for the birth of a child.
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1972 World Championships
