Profile: Lapel Pins – 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships, North Bay, Canada
Calling itself “Gateway of the North,” the city of North Bay, Ontario, hosted Canada’s figure skating elite for the national championships in early 1986. It had been nearly a quarter of a century since the event had been held in the small lakeside town. Like many major competitions of the time (or even before that time and after), the 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships were memorialized with lapel pins that, if nothing else, dutifully did their job to mark out the occasion. The pins are not the worst to have been produced for an event, to be sure. If you’re a regular reader of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins, you will have already seen some of the worst featured within these blogs.
An oval shape, the second in as many years for the annual event, is used for the pins from the 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. A bright color palette of white, blue, and yellow defines the design. A touch of red also is used, and if you guessed it appears in the maple leaf, then you’re a Canadian figure skating pin pro. At the center of the main logo pin, in yellow, are figure skaters in classic poses—the female in a stag jump, the male in a deep crossover. Their fingertips meet in an apex as they seem to hold up the logo of the Canadian Figure Skating Association1, which appears almost torch-like. Split in a banner to the left and right is the event location: “North Bay.” At the bottom are the event year and name: “1986 Canadians” (note that a maple leaf, barely discernible, is used as the third “a” in Canadians). The background of the pin, which is on a gold-color base metal, is divided into white and blue, creating a keyhole effect. It measures approximately 15/16″ x 1‑1/16″ (2.4 cm x 2.9 cm).
A bright color palette of white, blue, and yellow defines the 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships pins.
A second pin, which incorporates the same design as the main logo pin, was produced for the 1986 Canadians but is specifically marked “Competitor” in a semi-circular banner at the bottom. There may have been other, similar pins produced for officials connected with the event, something that was often seen in the past. Slightly more narrow but taller in height than the logo pin, the competitor pin is also on a gold-color base metal and measures approximately 7/8″ x 1‑1/4″ (2.2 cm x 3.2 cm). This pin is from the collection of a former Canadian men’s champion and was acquired through a former Canadian ladies champion.
Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships Pins: North Bay Gateway. And be sure to read the museum story for more information about figure skating pins.
1In 1986, the national governing body for figure skating in Canada was called Canadian Figure Skating Association (CFSA); today, the organization is known as Skate Canada.
Pins Gallery: 1986 Canadian Figure Skating Championships
#figureskatingpins #pincollecting #pintrading #pincollector #netropolitanmuseum