1986 World Junior Figure Skating Pin: On the Flip Side.

Last Updated on February 26, 2025 by Netropolitan Museum

Event was second of three World Junior Championships to be held in Sarajevo in the 1980s

The 1986 World Junior Figure Skating pin is a straightforward yet interesting collectible, marking that year’s event held in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. The championship, which brought together the best junior-level skaters from more than 20 countries, took place at the Zetra Arena, built for the 1984 Olympic Winter Games. By this time, Zetra was only a few years old, having opened its doors in 1983 and having hosted the World Junior Championships that year as well. Although the arena was later destroyed during the Bosnian War, it was rebuilt and remains an iconic venue in figure skating.

Pin Gallery: 1986 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

The pin design features the logo of the Savez Klizačkih i Koturaljkačkih Sportova Jugoslavije, the Yugoslav Federation of Skating and Inline Skating (as it was called at the time). The logo is composed of a two-tiered skate blade, with the federation’s abbreviation “SKKSJ” neatly placed inside. The design is clean, and the textured silver-tone background provides a subtle contrast to the medium blue of the skate blade logo. Beneath the logo, “Sarajevo 86” appears in raised lettering, indicating both the event’s location and year. The reverse side of the pin is equally interesting, with the event name—”World Junior Figure Skating Championships”—inscribed in raised lettering in English, adding another layer of detail. Both the front and reverse sides of the pin are featured in the gallery.

This pin stands out in part due to its two-sided design, which is a less common feature in figure skating event pins. Over the years, only a small number of two-sided pins have been made for major events. In fact, the 1986 World Junior Championships pin is one of only three World Junior Championship pins to feature information on the reverse.¹ Two of these pins were from events held in Sarajevo. Interestingly, two-sided pins were not exclusive to junior events. A similar design approach was used for the 1970 World Figure Skating Championships, held in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia.

¹Based on knowledge of The Curator of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins, and only on pins from the event’s inception in 1978 through 1990.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on April 23, 2022, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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Figure Skating Flashback: 1986

• The 1986 World Junior Championships saw two future world champions, Viktor Petrenko and Todd Eldredge, compete on the international stage. Petrenko captured junior gold that year before going on to win senior gold in 1992, while Eldredge claimed his junior title in 1988 and later secured senior gold in 1996.
• That same year, Meryl Davis—who would become one-half of America’s most decorated ice dance team—was born. Alongside Charlie White, Davis became a U.S., World, and Olympic champion and even won the reality TV competition Dancing with the Stars.
• Meanwhile, 1986 marked the conception of Stars on Ice, an idea envisioned by Scott Hamilton and an associate. Over nearly four decades, the tour has grown into a premier skating enterprise, showcasing the sport’s biggest names.
• The 1986 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Uniondale, New York, introduced fans to “Bucky the Beaver,” the event’s mascot. A collectible pin featuring Bucky was released, along with a limited-edition logo pin that incorporated him into the event’s main design.
• Geneva, Switzerland, hosted the 1986 World Figure Skating Championships, but pin collectors found themselves out of luck when the event pin sold out early.

From rising stars and future champions to iconic events and memorabilia, 1986 proved to be a noteworthy year in figure skating history.

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#figureskatingpins #pincollecting #pintrading #netropolitanmuseum