Profile: Lapel Pins – 1975 World Championships, Colorado Springs, Colorado

At least ten different high-quality lapel pins and a large, impressive participant medal commemorated the 1975 World Figure Skating Championships, held in Colorado Springs, Colorado, at the famed (and original) Broadmoor World Arena. It was the fifth time the world’s best figure skaters had converged on Colorado Springs for a World Championship, hosting prior events in 1957, 1959, 1965, and 1969. To date, 1975 was the final bow at The Broadmoor for a World event, although other major internationals were subsequently contested there before the arena was demolished in 1994.

Interestingly, the 1975 World Championships had three logo pins, all distinctly different either in production style or wording. First up in the gallery is a pair of logo pins that can be thought of as “fraternal twins.” Each is on a silver-color, aluminum-like base material, which is unusual for a pin made for a U.S.-held competition. The event logo, a stylized star shape consisting of skate blades lined up at the toe pick, adorns the center. Between each section are the event colors: blue, red, green, yellow, and black. It can also be theorized that the five skate blades and five resulting segments represent the “5” in “1975.”

The difference between the two pins comes in the wording used. Around the circumference of the first pin are the event year and name: “1975 World Figure Skating Championships.” The second pin also features the event year and name, only smaller and running around the top three quarters of the pin. Around the bottom is the venue: “The Broadmoor.” Note that the colors used in the design are the same as those seen in the Olympic rings to represent the universality of sport. A conclusion can perhaps be drawn, therefore, that the same five colors were chosen for the 1975 Worlds pin to represent the universality of figure skating. These logo pins each measure approximately 1‑1/8″ in diameter (2.9 cm).

Interestingly, the 1975 World Figure Skating Championships had three logo pins, all distinctly different either in production style or wording used.

The third version of the logo pin is all enamel on a gold-color base metal and features the same wording as used on the second version of the aluminum pin. This is a high-quality and well-made pin that likely was not available for sale but produced in limited number and given selectively. The Curator of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins has seen this pin only a handful of times over more than 40 years of collecting.

Next in the gallery is a series of special-issue pins that would have been made for and given only to those with a specific role in the championship. The fine-quality, enamel pins are marvelous souvenirs of a World Championship and reflect both the stature and importance of the event. In the upper center of the pin is the same artwork in the same size as seen on the third logo pin. Each pin incorporates a different color for the background, along with “The Broadmoor” at the top and the special designation below. Two of the pins, those for a competitor and an unnamed official, have a white background. On a gold-color base metal with generously rounded corners, each pin measures approximately 1‑1/4″ x 1‑7/8″ (3.2 cm x 4.8 cm). Of special note is the competitor pin, which was acquired from a German auction house and is from the collection of East German pairs champions and world and Olympic medalists Romy Kermer & Rolf Österreich. Shown in the gallery are:

“I.S.U.”
“Competitor”
“Judge”
“Professional”
“Official”
“Guest”
Blank (unnamed official)

Last in the gallery is a participant medal, produced in a gold-color metal and stamped “Medallic Art Co. Danbury, Conn.” on the edge. The face of the medal features the same artwork as the pins but is done in a combination of relief and counter-relief. Only the event name is featured, with “The Broadmoor” wording omitted from the face. On the reverse is a high-oblique aerial depiction of The Broadmoor Hotel and the Rocky Mountains in the distance, with “The Broadmoor” around the upper circumference and the designer’s signature just below. The medal likely was produced in limited quantity and given selectively. It measures 4″ in diameter (10 cm) and 5/16″ in thickness (0.8 cm).

Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1975 World Figure Skating Championships Pins: Final Bow at The Broadmoor. And be sure to read the museum story for more information about figure skating pins.