1982 Skate Canada Pins: Kitchener–Waterloo in 82.

Last Updated on February 3, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

Event was the ninth Skate Canada and offered three different pins

Like the previous eight Skate Canada events, 1982 Skate Canada was commemorated with lapel pins that carried the by-then-familiar stylized skater logo—the event brand, if you will. The city of Kitchener–Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, hosted the event, which saw 44 skaters from 12 nations come together in early fall for the beginning of the 1982–83 season. In a foreshadowing of the famed “Battle of the Brians” that would take place less than six years later at the 1988 Olympic Winter Games in Calgary, America’s Brian Boitano also would get the better of Canada’s Brian Orser at Skate Canada.

Pins Gallery: 1982 Skate Canada

The 1982 Skate Canada event offered collectors of pins more than most previous Skate Canada events, issuing an unusual cut-out version of the stylized skater alongside a main logo pin and a larger competitor/official pin. The cutout pin was likely a limited edition with limited distribution, possibly given only to competitors. All three pins are shown in the gallery below.

The main logo pin, available for purchase at the event, is a vertical design, which differs from the horizontal-style pin issued in Ottawa the year prior and the oval and circular shapes of earlier Skate Canada competitions. The skater logo, in red, stands off well from the all-white background while a red border neatly frames everything. Below the logo are the event location, name, and year: “Kitchener–Waterloo Skate Canada 82.” A red maple leaf punctuates the design, bringing both balance and visual interest.

Competitors and officials at 1982 Skate Canada were presented with a larger pin, near-identical in design and shape to the smaller version. The main difference is treatment of the event location, which is in gold lettering, and event name, which is in black lettering outlined in gold. Producing a larger pin, typically limited in distribution and not available to the public, was common during the early Skate Canada events. Whereas the main logo pin is on a silver-colored base metal, the larger pin is on a gold-colored base metal.

As eluded to earlier, availability of the third pin—the Skate Canada logo in a cut-out shape—was likely extremely limited. The pin shown in the gallery was acquired by The Curator of The Netropolitan from the collection of a well-known, many-times Canadian national champion of the 1980s. In more than 40 years of collecting, The Curator has seen this pin only once, making it correct to believe it is a rare version given selectively at 1982 Skate Canada. The pin is made of a gold-colored metal.

Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1982 Skate Canada Pins: Kitchener–Waterloo in 82.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on April 17, 2021, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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