Last Updated on September 20, 2025 by Netropolitan Museum

From Thunder Bay to collectors’ hands: a transitional pin set

In 1988, the long-established and successful brand for the Skate Canada event, held annually each fall, began to show signs of transformation. A title sponsor had been added, and with it came a shift in how the competition was presented and remembered. The change is visible in the 1988 Skate Canada pins, where one design stays true to the familiar tradition, while two others reflect the new sponsor’s influence and the winds of change sweeping through figure skating at the time.

The host city, Thunder Bay, Ontario, is tucked into the vast expanse of Northwestern Ontario, and it wasn’t the first time this community staged a major skating competition, having successfully hosted the 1979 Canadian Figure Skating Championships. The location sounds less like the setting for a skating showdown than the backdrop for a moody TV drama, complete with cloud-covered skies, oversized wool sweaters, aromatic coffee, artisan breads, and warm bowls of clam chowder. Intrigue was in the air, making it a fitting stage for an event where tradition and commercialism were about to collide.

Pins Gallery: 1988 Skate Canada

The first of the 1988 Skate Canada pins is the more traditional logo design, closely aligned with its predecessors. Its craftsmanship is slightly less refined, but the intent is clear: this is the Skate Canada event that competitors and fans alike have known for years. But why issue a traditional pin when the event was now branded as “Sun Life Skate Canada”? It’s possible the design had already been commissioned before the sponsor came on board, and rather than discarding it, the committee pressed ahead.

The logo pin, likely the one that could be purchased as a souvenir at the event, features a diagonal division of red and white, with the red section bearing the words “Skate Canada Thunder Bay” while the white carries the Skate Canada logo and the year “88.” As seen on previous Skate Canada pins, the skater figure does not always stand perfectly upright—sometimes leaning forward, sometimes backward, sometimes rigidly upright. The consistency of inconsistency is, oddly enough, part of the charm. Collectors can compare this interpretation with those on the 1973, 1981, 1983, and 1985 Skate Canada pins.

Also issued was a larger version of the logo pin that likely was given only to competitors and selected officials of the event. A larger version had become a sort of tradition with the Skate Canada event, dating back to the first event in 1973. The design of the officials/competitor’s pin is virtually the same as the logo pin.

By contrast, the two Sun Life-branded pins embrace more color and design flair, signaling the influence of corporate sponsorship. Both share the same layout: a series of ice crystals at the lower left edge, with the familiar skater pictogram, used more as a nod to tradition. The sponsor’s name, event title, and location sweep around two-thirds of the pin, framing the year “1988” and the word “International” at the center. Like the main logo pin, the small Sun Life pin was likely available for sale to the public, while the larger version would have been reserved for competitors and selected officials.

Interestingly, the separation of the word “International” from the event title is an unusual design choice. Although Skate Canada International is the formal event name, isolating the word created a more stylized look—though one that made the pin feel more like a generic international meet than a prestigious, invitation-only competition. In the end, the 1988 Skate Canada pins tell a story far larger than any single competition. They mark a turning point in the sport’s presentation, capturing the transition from heritage to sponsorship.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on February 25, 2023, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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