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CBC
a day ago
- Sport
- CBC
The Trading Economy
Nfld. & Labrador Pin trading is the currency of the Canada Games, and these athletes are hooked Alex Kennedy Aug. 17, 2025 Athletes at the Canada Summer Games in St. John's are competing in 19 sports. But there's also the unofficial 20th sport that has the eyes of many — pin trading. Leah Quinlan and Sarah Baker, rugby sevens players representing Newfoundland and Labrador, were quick to get in on the craze. "We go pin trading a lot. Every night before bed we go out. And we just stand waiting for someone to come up to us,' Quinlan told CBC News on Wednesday. 'If you stand, the amount of people [who] come up to you asking for pins is crazy.' Pins can come from just about anywhere around the running of the event. There's designs for sale at venues. Canada Games organizers and community sponsors often have their own. And athletes are given a set of specially designed pins from their home province. Trading often happens fast and furious, with staff having to tell athletes not to get rid of all of their pins at once. Most provinces also include a set of pins — usually a duo or trio — that are tied to a theme or create a larger picture when connected. For example, Team Yukon has two pins at this year's event that form the shape of the territory when put together. Quinlan said each of the home province's special pins, a puffin and two dogs for Newfoundland and Labrador, are in high demand. "Multiple people will be like 'I'll give you these five pins for this dog.' But I'm very protective over my pins, and I love my dogs and my puffin. So I found it really hard to trade them,' she said. Other collectors operate with the goal of trying to collect one pin from every province and territory. Some are harder to find than others, given the pool of athletes from each region varies greatly. That makes territories like Nunavut or Yukon harder to find, and often makes negotiations extra important when you find a pin you're looking for. "They're also hagglers, because they know how important their pins are,' said Gemma Ogoke, a rugby player from Alberta. 'They're like 'give me three for one,' and I'm like 'No, please!' But then I got a one for one trade because I got the Newfoundland puffin. And he really wanted it, so it was awesome." 'Best part of the Games' And it isn't just the athletes who get involved. Lynne Kozina, a volunteer who came to experience the event from Toronto, has been pin trading at sporting events around the world for a decade. She's eager to trade with anyone, and has also picked up the lessons of proper pin etiquette along the way. "If you want to be considered a pin trader, make sure you wear one, at least one, on your lanyard, because that's the signal to other pin traders that it's ok to approach you and ask for pins,' she said. Kozina has even been able to design official pins in the past, and was the inspiration behind a pin given to Canadian volunteers at the Paris Olympics in 2024. "When you're not an athlete, it's hard, you know, to get an equivalent pin, you know, for trading. So I designed a pin and had it made by The Pin People that was a Canadian volunteer Paris 2024 pin,' she said. 'The athletes loved it, so I was able to do some good trades in Paris.' Luke Sherriffs, volunteering as a venue coordinator, has been a pin trader since his first Canada Games in 2011. "I was in the village day one during the moving day, so I was able to meet a lot of the athletes and trade a couple of pins that I had from past Games,' he said. 'It's got to be the best part of the Games other than the competition, of course." WATCH: The CBC's Alex Kennedy dives into trading at the Canada Games: Athletes at the Canada Summer Games in St. John's are competing in 19 sports. But there's also the unofficial 20th sport that has the eyes of many — pin trading. The CBC's Alex Kennedy takes us inside the game within the Games. For Chantal Rochon, a member of New Brunswick's mission staff, this is her first Canada Games. She said she can feel the energy around pin trading in the athletes' village and at venues. "I wasn't sure how interested I'd be in the pins, but I'm all in,' she said. 'It's super addicting. I traded one pin and then I was sold." Connecting across Canada Many pin traders who spoke with CBC News saw it as a valuable tool of connection between athletes from different provinces. "It's always a conversation starter, right? And it's a great way to, you know, get to know people from different places, learn about their culture and their sport and everything," Kara McLean, a rugby sevens player from Yukon, said Wednesday. She also sees some pins as invaluable souvenirs. "All my pins are put up on a bulletin board above my bed. And I just think back on all the fun times I've had. It's just an incredible memory, always,' she said. Newfoundland and Labrador Chef de Mission Jamie Randell has kept those memories through decades of experience with the Canada Games. This year marks her 10th event. 'I remember way back when I was there in 1995, there were a few pins, nothing like I've seen. It seems like every Games, the pins are getting more and more intense. And I think in 2025, it is the most pins that I have ever seen being traded," she said. "By the end of the week, you're going to see some pins going for clothing, jackets, you know, bucket hats. You know, it is a big currency of the Canada Games.' Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our daily headlines newsletter here. Click here to visit our landing page. Related Stories Footer Links My Account Profile CBC Gem Newsletters Connect with CBC Facebook Twitter YouTube Instagram Mobile RSS Podcasts Contact CBC Submit Feedback Help Centre Audience Relations, CBC P.O. Box 500 Station A Toronto, ON Canada, M5W 1E6 Toll-free (Canada only): 1-866-306-4636 TTY/Teletype writer: 1-866-220-6045 About CBC Corporate Info Sitemap Reuse & Permission Terms of Use Privacy Jobs Our Unions Independent Producers Political Ads Registry AdChoices Services Ombudsman Public Appearances Commercial Services CBC Shop Doing Business with Us Renting Facilities Accessibility It is a priority for CBC to create a website that is accessible to all Canadians including people with visual, hearing, motor and cognitive challenges. Closed Captioning and Described Video is available for many CBC shows offered on CBC Gem. About CBC Accessibility Accessibility Feedback © 2025 CBC/Radio-Canada. All rights reserved. Visitez
CBC
7 days ago
- Sport
- CBC
Para cycling makes Canada Games debut, Team Quebec's Joseph Vachon wins gold
Team Quebec's Joseph Vachon won his individual time trial event and showed off his historic gold medal as well as his sweet ride after his race at the Canada Games in St. John's.
National Post
29-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
Students, Workers Bearing the Brunt of Underfunding, Says Union Amid MUN Layoffs
Article content ST. JOHN'S, Newfoundland and Labrador — The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is deeply concerned about further attacks to postsecondary education offerings in Newfoundland and Labrador. Following the news that Memorial University (MUN) is working with a budget deficit of $20M, university services have been eliminated, and workers have already been laid off. Article content 'We are concerned about what this means for both workers at MUN, and for students,' says Bill Kavanagh, President of CUPE 1615. Article content Notably, at least some services performed by laid off CUPE members appear to have been handed off to other workers at MUN. The services of the writing centre, for example—which was closed after 40 years serving the St. John's campus—have been merged with the Centre for Innovation in Teaching and Learning. Article content 'The university has stated that they value the work our members do and what we bring to MUN,' continued Kavanagh. 'But they have chosen to make unionized positions 'redundant' and give that work to non-unionized workers, who don't have the protections of a collective agreement.' CUPE 1615 represents Administrative, Instructional, Technical, and Technical Support Staff at the St. John's, Signal Hill, Grenfell, and Labrador campuses. 45 staffing redundancies appear to be impacting the West coast Grenfell campus the most, indicating a possible trend towards further centralizing MUN offerings to campuses in St. John's. Article content 'It's been months since we asked the province to step in and take action,' said Sherry Hillier, CUPE Newfoundland & Labrador President. 'Now, hardworking people are losing their livelihoods, and Newfoundlanders are losing more of our only public post-secondary education institution. Does the Province think investing in our future is redundant?' Article content Also closed are the Harris Centre and the Office of Public Engagement, despite MUN's mission statement including a 'dedication' to 'service and public engagement'. Article content In May, the Province announced a pause to planned cuts to MUN's public funding, but funding to MUN has decreased by almost half since 2013. A pause to further attacks is not enough. The Province must increase funding to MUN and work to reverse the damage done by over a decade of underfunding as it moves forward with its 10-year plan to improve public education, called the Education Accord NL. Article content 'We've been saying this since the Education Accord was first announced at the start of last year,' continues Hillier. 'And we said it again when the interim report came out at the start of this year. The people of Newfoundland and Labrador deserve an accessible, world-class public university. And that is not the direction our government is headed.' Article content Article content Article content Article content For more information, please contact: Article content Article content Sherry Hillier Article content & Article content Labrador Article content Article content 709-765-2996 Article content Bill Kavanagh President, CUPE 1615 709-864-2393 Article content
