1989 World Junior Figure Skating Pins: A Threepeat With a Repeat.

Last Updated on June 10, 2025 by Netropolitan Museum

What goes around comes around … sometimes sooner than later

From the early to late 1980s, Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, hosted the World Junior Figure Skating Championships every three years like clockwork: 1983, 1986, and 1989. When the event returned in 1989, it brought with it not just the top junior skaters from more than 20 countries, but also a familiar visual: the same logo design used in 1986 appeared again on the 1989 World Junior Figure Skating pins. The main pin kept its distinctive two-sided format, and a smaller, circular logo pin was added to create a nicely coordinated two-pin set that commemorated the event.

Pins Gallery: 1989 World Junior Figure Skating Championships

Both pins from the 1989 World Junior Figure Skating Championships prominently feature the logo of the Savez Klizačkih i Koturaljkačkih Sportova Jugoslavije (Federation of Skating and Inline Skating of Yugoslavia), the governing body of skating at the time in the former Yugoslavia. On the smaller pin, the two-tiered, stylized skate blade logo neatly contains the “SKKSJ” federation abbreviation inside the stanchions. The textured background of the gold-color pin provides a strong contrast to the raised, shiny surface of the skate blade logo. Also in raised lettering along the bottom of the pin are the event location and year: “Sarajevo 89.”

The larger, main logo pin is a near repeat of the 1986 version and features the federation abbreviation “SKKSJ” in a slightly brighter blue than before, set against a textured gold-color base metal. The skate blade logo complements the background color exceptionally well, with the event location and year directly below: “Sarajevo 89.” The event name, in English, is inscribed in raised lettering on the reverse: “World Junior Figure Skating Championships.” Both the front and back of the pin are shown in the gallery. The pin measures approximately .

Only a handful of figure skating pins made for major events have featured two-sided designs—a unique feature that makes a pin more interesting simply because it’s different. The 1989 World Junior Championships is one of just three such events¹ where pins included information on the reverse (and, as seen here, two of the three took place in Sarajevo). Interestingly, two-sided pins were also issued for the 1970 World Figure Skating Championships, held in Yugoslavia as well—in Ljubljana, some 330+ miles northwest of Sarajevo.

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

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

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