Profile: Lapel Pin – 1985 European Championships, Gothenburg, Sweden
Sub-zero temperatures may have dampened attendance at the 1985 European Figure Skating Championships, held in Gothenburg, Sweden, but for those who braved the Nordic blast, the pin issued to commemorate the event at least figuratively warmed and brightened their day. The cheerful blue pin, simplistic yet effective, reflects the well-known “less is more” Nordic design sensibility, seen in everything from architecture to furnishings to print materials.
The Swedish language abbreviation for European Championships and the event year stand as the main visual elements on the pin: “EM-85” (“EM” meaning “Europamästerskap”). Note the elegant old-style numerals used for the year—a fine design detail that is long gone from today’s pedestrian, “made in China” event pins. A series of tracings to mimic those left by a blade on the ice complements the design and adds both visual balance and tension. Below the year is the event date: “4–10 febr.” In the lower right corner is the logo of the event venue, the Scandinavium. This pin, along with that issued for the 1976 World Figure Skating Championships and the participant medal issued for the 1980 European Figure Skating Championships, both held in Gothenburg at the Scandinavium, feature the venue logo. Only a handful of pins from major events have ever included the name or representation of the event venue.
The cheerful blue pin from the 1985 European Figure Skating Championships is simplistic yet effective and reflects the well-known Nordic design sensibility of “less is more.”
On a silver-color base metal and filled with blue enamel, all artwork and lettering is in relief. The pin measures approximately 1‑1/4″ x 1″ (3.2 cm x 2.5 cm).
Now for some folklore about the 1985 pin: an individual who once ran a skating memorabilia business made the claim that two different sizes of this pin were made; that claim was not proven at the time with any physical evidence, so the story was relegated to folklore. In addition, in more than 40 years of collecting, The Curator of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins has not seen any other sizes of the 1985 pin. However, if anyone does have a different size of this pin, please email an image of it (with dimensions) to The Netropolitan.
Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1985 European Figure Skating Championships Pin: A Nordic Blast from the Past. And be sure to read the museum story for more information about figure skating pins.
Pin Gallery: 1985 European Figure Skating Championships
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