1979 World Figure Skating Pin: A Study in Contrast.

Last Updated on August 3, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

A clean and simple design defines the event pin, contrasting sharply with the sport itself

In 1979, Vienna, Austria, hosted the World Figure Skating Championships, marking the event’s return to the city after a 12-year hiatus. Much had changed since that time. While the 1967 event took place outdoors in inclement weather, the 1979 event was held in a modern indoor sports and convention center. The short program for singles, not yet invented in 1967, had become a make-or-break component by 1979. And with their days in the sport already numbered, compulsory figures had been reduced from six to three and from 50% to 30% of the total score. When comparing and contrasting the 1967 and 1979 events, the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships pin also figures into the mix.

Pin Gallery: 1979 World Figure Skating Championships

While the main logo pin for the 1967 World Championships is steeped in the history of the Wiener Eislauf-Verein (Vienna Ice Skating Club) and is traditional in design, the logo pin issued to commemorate the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships is a sleek and contemporary piece. It’s Vienna gone modern. Interestingly, the 1979 pin introduces another striking contrast: the clean and simple design stands sharply opposite to the increasing complexity and transformation of figure skating itself.

A geometric figure skating pair in a spiral move is at the center of the pin, which features a bold color palette of red, dark blue, and off-white to further create contrast. The concentric circles suggest motion and hint of the tracings laid down by a blade on the ice. Beneath the skaters, the inscription reads “WM79 Wien,” denoting the event’s name, year, and location.

On the ice, the 1979 championships are perhaps best remembered for the triumphant victory of Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner of the United States in the pairs event. With many-time world champions Irina Rodnina and Alexander Zaitsev of the USSR absent, the American pair seized the world title, setting up a highly anticipated showdown at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games that, unfortunately, never came to pass. The pairs figure depicted on the 1979 World Figure Skating Championships pin could easily have been modeled after Babilonia and Gardner, capturing the elegant style, impressive extension, and mirror-like precision for which the duo was well known.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on August 1, 2020, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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