1976 US Figure Skating Pins: Let’s Hear it for the Red, White, and Blue.

Last Updated on September 28, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

The nation’s Bicentennial was reflected in two unusual event lapel pins

In the United States, 1976 was a memorable year: it was the nation’s Bicentennial and a presidential election year. One event was a celebration of the country’s rich and glorious history while the other became a mandate on the country’s leadership (although the result of the mandate, many say, would prove to be a colossal, four-year-long mistake). In the world of amateur sports, 1976 was more a celebration because it also was an Olympic year (both winter and summer games). To kick things off, America’s top figure skaters gathered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, in early January to compete for a chance to represent the U.S. at the 1976 Olympic Winter Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Let’s take a look at the two pins issued to celebrate the 1976 US Figure Skating Championships held at the famed Broadmoor World Arena.

Pins Gallery: 1976 US Figure Skating Championships

The red, white, and blue patriotism of the Bicentennial is clearly reflected in the pins issued for the 1976 US Championships—they are an unusual bar shape, something not seen in any US Championships pins before or after. The gallery features two versions: one in silver, which is the main logo pin and likely sold to the public at the event; and one in gold, which is an exclusive version likely produced for and given only to those closely connected with the event: competitors, officials, coaches, and others.

The main logo pin is made of a thin, lightweight alloy (likely aluminum) with the U.S. Championships event artwork silkscreened in red, white, and blue. An interpretation of a skate blade, in white, is nicely integrated with the year, abbreviated as “76.” In blue lettering on the blade are the event name and venue: “U.S.F.S.A. Championships The Broadmoor.” An odd, backward-slanting treatment is seen in the lettering. And as was common in the era, a more colloquial term was used to denote the national championships, rather than the formal name “United States Figure Skating Championships.”

The more substantial gold-color pin is made of metal and is treated similarly, but not identically, in design to its silver companion. On the gold version, the event name and venue are reversed from the white skate blade to the gold-color base metal. It is interesting to note that neither pin includes the event city name, making the 1976 US Championships one of only two early national events where this information is not featured on the commemorative pin (the other event being 1958 Minneapolis).

Just three years after the 1976 US Championships, the U.S. Figure Skating Association (USFSA, or today called U.S. Figure Skating) moved its headquarters from Boston, where the organization had been based for nearly three decades, to Colorado Springs. The move was made to align with the earlier relocation of the U.S. Olympic Committee to Colorado Springs. Interestingly, for a city steeped in figure skating history, 1976 would be the last year (to date) that Colorado Springs would host the U.S. Championships, although the city has since hosted the World Junior Figure Skating Championships and Skate America a number of times.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on November 28, 2020, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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