‘Pin trading is kind of like another sport in the Games’: How N.L. athletes are hustling their pins at the Canada Games
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First and foremost, the Canada Games is about sporting excellence and going head-to-head with some of the best competitors in your sport that the country has to offer.
But there is another part of the games that exists as a by-product of these sporting activities: pin swapping. And just like Pokemon, young athletes are driven by the desire to collect them all.
Put simply, pins are a currency.
“Pin trading is like a different sport at the Games,” said Outer Cove’s Alex Hollett.
“It’s quite a competition and usually the best speakers win.”
A Canada Games flea market
Since competing in karate earlier this week, Hollett has taken a crash course in the fast-paced world of pin trading.
It was something he’d heard about at his first Canada games just before arriving on Prince Edward Island, but the reality is an experience Hollett admits he wasn’t quite prepared for.
Trades can take place anywhere a deal can be made. Sometimes athletes go to the cafeteria and find other competitors sitting down and showing their pins on the table in front of them. In a way, it looks like a Canada Games flea market.
Each province and territory has its own pins, and some are rarer than others due to the size of their contingent. For example, Nunavut pins and clothing are in high demand.
There are also special pins for medalists and other special pins. There are even some people who have pins from previous games that they would like to trade in.
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On the hunt
“We didn’t really think it was going to be a huge thing, but of course when we got up we were a bit shocked at how big it actually was,” Hollett said. “So it’s like people are trying to trade all the time.”
Not only athletes are on the hunt for a sweet bargain for a few pins. Managers, trainers and mission workers are also looking for jobs where they can get them.
Mission staffer David Hancock tweeted that if anyone was looking for some Newfoundland and Labrador swag, he was looking for Team Ontario gear.
“They even have coaches out there trying to trade in volunteers,” said Middle Cove’s Noah Ryan, a karate teammate of Hollett.
haggle
As with any business, every successful trade involves a little haggling.
Both Hollett and Ryan have agreed on a best practice in the art of the deal. Namely, they put their items on pedestals in hopes of enticing someone to offer something in exchange.
“You just talk about it, and then buyers buy it,” Ryan said.
Since completing his competition, he’s managed to secure a pin from the Northwest Territories, as well as a rare pin from Vision33 – a national partner of the games – which he says is the centerpiece of his set.
wish lists
With the first week of games quickly coming to an end and her time at the games getting shorter and shorter, there is little time to grab the items at the top of her wish list.
For Hollett, who has pins from most other provinces, his wish list includes a pin from Nunavut and maybe some items of clothing, like the scarves in Quebec’s gear or the jackets from Prince Edward Island, which are considered must-haves.
“One of the guys from the Northwest Territories offered to trade a hockey jersey for one of our team jackets,” Ryan said.
“I kind of want the jersey but I don’t want to give up my team jacket so I’ll track them down and see if they go full zip or something.”
Trading continues for now.