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SOCHI, Russia — Pin trading at the Olympics has become a competition of its own.
The activity requires endurance and patience, and it is almost guaranteed a fan will ask about a pin their peers wear.
However, unlike the actual Olympics, fans can’t medal for garnering pins. Instead, they just accumulate more pins.
Salt Lake City resident Janet Grissom is a professional pin trader, and she currently possesses more than 10,000 pins.
Grissom said the trading can be addicting.
“I like trading,” she said. “I like trading a lot. It’s really fun when you make a trade, and they’re happy and you’re happy.”
On top of the collecting, the traveling to events creates additional memories. It took Grissom four flights to reach Russia, and her hotel accommodations are a docked cruise ship in the summer resort town. Still, Grissom said she already plans on attending the 2016 Summer Olympics in Brazil.
SLC resident Janet Grissom owns over ten thousand Olympic pins.
Still, the language barrier can cause problems.
“I really like meeting the people, but it’s kind of difficult,” she said. “It’s kind of difficult because a lot of people are Russian, and I don’t speak Russian.”
Of all the various pins available, Grissom said media pins are some of the most sought after items, including NBC’s pins. She also said KSL’s snowboard pin would be tradable.
