Pins International Exchange

KAZAN – These days in Kazan an improvised competition which was not included in the 2013 Summer Universiade schedule is being played. It is the sport with the most participants, because more than 9,000 athletes, around 10,000 volunteers, journalists and organizing staff are taking part in it: pin trading.

Part of the spirit that surrounds the Universiade is the cultural mix, the meeting of people arrived from all over the world to share the passion of sport. Keeping the contact with the new friends met in Kazan will be very easy thanks to the social networks.

However, there are traditions that still endure, and the thousands of people who have descended upon Kazan want to return home with a memory of their days here, and of all the people they’ve met. Especially the volunteers, who are in contact with hundreds of athletes and visitors on a daily basis.

Because of it, the pin trading competition has emerged and has been extended to all the athletes, even to the members of the organizing committee and the press: the ‘Pins International Exchange’ is about racking up the highest possible number of pins from several different countries and decorating the lanyard that holds the accreditation badge.  

Irina, volunteer from Russia, explains that the pins she’s collected will allow her to “remember all the friends that I have met here”. Vladimir, also a volunteer, already has 15 pins, and says that he would like to have “two or three more.”

The only rule is to be well prepared with several pins or badges from your country to interchange. There are no winners or losers, just the possibility of returning home with an original memory of the event.

The curious initiative, apart from being a funny game, is one more example of the social power of the Universiade and its multicultural dimension. Who knows, maybe the ‘Pins International Exchange’ will become an official sport in the next Universiade…

Javier Morales Bolivar/FISU Young Reporter (ESP)