1976 Canadian Championships at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins

What sport collectible almost always comes with a red maple leaf worked somewhere into the design? If your first thought was a figure skating pin from Canada, then you’re as sharp as figure skating blades themselves. And right at the center of the pin made to commemorate the 1976 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, held in London, Ontario, is that much-beloved maple leaf.

The tri-color pin, on a gold-color base metal, is plain and speaks to a time when a national figure skating championship was really just about the skating. There is an innocence seen in the pin. Along with the maple leaf is an illustration of a pair in a simple lift, the white background allowing the artwork to stand out prominently. Around the circumference of the pin, on a medium blue, are the event name and host club: “Canadian Figure Skating Championships, Ilderton Winter Club.” This is one of only a few pins from major events, Canadian Championships or otherwise, to carry the name of the host club. It’s unusual. The event year is tucked beneath the maple leaf and skaters. The pin measures approximately 3/4″ in diameter (2 cm).

The 1976 Canadian Figure Skating Championships pin is plain and speaks to a time when a national championship was really just about the skating.

Of interest to note is that London hosted the Canadian Figure Skating Championships in both Olympic years in the 1970s. It would be 34 years before the city would again host the championships in an Olympic year, that honor being 2010. Read the blog about the 1972 Canadian Championships pin.

Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: Innsbruck Via London. 1976.

1976 Canadian Figure Skating Championships Pin Gallery

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