1979 Norton Skate Pin: Flaming Leaves.

Figure skating event was commemorated with a colorful and popular lapel pin Before the world came to Lake Placid, New York, for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, the newly built ice arena for the Games hosted the official test event, Norton Skate (named for the event sponsor, the Norton Company, a manufacturer of abrasives). Held… Continue reading 1979 Norton Skate Pin: Flaming Leaves.

1990 Skate America Pin: Upstate New York Skate of Mind.

Profile: Lapel Pin – 1990 Skate America, Buffalo, New York By 1990, Buffalo, New York, had not hosted a major figure skating event since the 1971 US Figure Skating Championships were in town, and even then the city was not known as a skating town by any means. But what Buffalo had become known for… Continue reading 1990 Skate America Pin: Upstate New York Skate of Mind.

1989 Skate America Pin: Crossword Puzzle Effect.

Profile: Lapel Pin – 1989 Skate America, Indianapolis, Indiana By 1989, more than seven years had elapsed since a major figure skating championship had been contested in Indianapolis, Indiana. The last was the 1982 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in January of that year at the old Market Square Arena (since demolished). But that all… Continue reading 1989 Skate America Pin: Crossword Puzzle Effect.

1988 Skate America Pin: Another Maine Event.

Profile: Lapel Pin – 1988 Skate America, Portland, Maine For the second time in three years, Portland, Maine, was site of the Skate America event, serving as an official kick-off to the post-Olympic season in late 1988. Like its predecessor competitions, the 1988 Skate America event prominently featured the familiar red and blue event pictogram—a… Continue reading 1988 Skate America Pin: Another Maine Event.

In the Beginning. 1981–1982.

In October 1981, a new annual figure skating competition—Skate America—was launched in North America and was contested in Lake Placid, New York. Skate America had officially arrived but had roots going back to the 1979 Flaming Leaves International, which served as the official test event for the new Olympic Field House arena built for the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, also held in Lake Placid. In the same arena that had hosted the hockey and figure skating events during the Olympic Games less than two years earlier, an international roster of figure skaters again assembled. Skate America would return to Lake Placid in 1982.