1981 World Junior Figure Skating Pins: London, the One in Canada.

Last Updated on May 4, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

Two handsome lapel pins—reverse colors of one another—marked the annual event

The sixth World Junior Figure Skating Championships ever to be contested took place in London, Ontario, Canada in the spring of 1981. The occasion was also the first time the event had been held outside Europe, with four of the first five events having been held in the same location: Megeve, France. For the championship in London, two handsome lapel pins were issued, one a regular event pin available to the general public and a second, “reverse” design, given to competitors and officials.

Pins Gallery: 1981 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

Each of the enamel-filled pins—in a palette of white, blue, and red—is on a gold-color base metal. The main event pin features a white center and blue border while the officials/competitor version reverses that, with the center in blue and border area in white. Otherwise, the two pins are identical.

Along the circumference of the pin in all-capital letters is the event name: “World Junior Figure Skating Championships.” In the center is a globe motif with latitude and longitude lines; a stylized figure skater and the year of the event, “1981,” add visual interest and balance. Note the peculiar lower legs of the skater that perhaps more resemble stilt figure skates used by an acrobatic ice circus performer. At the bottom right of the pin in partial cut-out style is the much-beloved symbol of Canada, the maple leaf, in an obligatory red. Layered over the maple leaf is the event location, also in all-capital letters: “London Canada.”

The 1981 pin is among the largest ever issued for a World Junior Championships. The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins has also covered other early World Junior Championships events, found here: 1976 and 1977, 1978, and 1979. Note that a pin was not issued for the 1980 event, held in Obertsdorf, West Germany.

Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1981 World Junior Figure Skating Pins: London, the One in Canada.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on June 5, 2021, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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