A Canadian man, originally from North Bay, who is volunteering at Canada Olympic House in Paris, is getting an extra bonus while doing his work. He is trading collectors’ pins with athletes, delegations and media members from around the world.

Kiefer Uuksulainen is helping to staff  Team Canada’s base at the games. That role has him interacting with a lot of people from different countries, and for an avid pin trader, that’s a blessing.

“It’s really anywhere on the street this can happen, where you might see an athlete, you might see a spectator, you might see an official,” said Uuksulainen.

Pin trading is an Olympic tradition that dates back generations, according to the International Olympic Committee. At the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896, competitors, officials and their colleagues wore cardboard badges as identification.

Through the years, the cardboard was replaced with enamel pins. Countries began creating colourful, limited-edition designs, and the trading market took off.

Athletes often bring several pins from their home country, sometimes featuring multiple designs. They will give them to others at the games as tokens of appreciation or exchange them with the new friends they make.

All of those qualities are why the IOC describes pins as the “unofficial currency of the Olympics.”

Rare pins in high demand

Every year, some pins tend to be coveted more than others. That could be because of their unique construction, limited production, or their ties to a certain memorable moment at the games.

This year, a lot of buzz has circulated online about American gymnast Simone Biles’ custom, heart-shaped pins. 

There is also a lot of interest in a pin that features rapper and entrepreneur Snoop Dogg blowing Olympic-coloured smoke rings. Snoop served as a torchbearer for the games and is also a special commentator for NBC’s Olympic broadcast team.

Uuksulainen has been able to make some good finds at these games. He said his favourite was the Lichtenstein pin, a rare item because Lichtenstein only has one athlete, a mountain biker, at Paris 2024.

Uuksulainen said he happened to encounter the athlete’s partner after the mountain bike competition had finished, and arranged a pin trade.

“Often, athletes will go home right away. And so to find somebody associated with a delegation of one shocked me,” said Uuksulainen.

The pin has a slice through it and features a royal crown above the Olympic rings. Uuksulainen said he hasn’t been keeping it on his lanyard for fear it may go missing.

Pins from home on offer

Uuksulainen gathered a variety of pins before heading to Paris, including some provincial pins from local politicians. He also got some from North Bay, thanks to his mother.

“Even if people don’t have pins, you know, because I have enough of them, I’m able to kind of give them out to people,” said Uuksulainen.

He said he’s never before been to an Olympic Games, and being in Paris as a Canada House volunteer is a “lifetime dream trip.”

CBC Sudbury is giving away CBC Olympic Pins throughout the games on Morning North. Listen weekdays from 6 to 8:30 a.m. for your chance to win.