What Is Pin Trading at the Olympics? Athletes Explain (Exclusive)

At the end of any Olympic Games, the competing athletes are all hoping to leave with one key thing: a medal. But there’s some other take-home accessories that are just as covetable.

If you’ve been following along as athletes arrive to the Olympic Village in Paris for the 2024 Summer Games, you’ve likely seen chatter about pins and pin trading. The practice is not new — athletes have long been swapping pins at the Games.

“I regret not being on my pin game last Games, so this time I’m really stepping it up with my pin game,” women’s volleyball star Chiaka Ogbogu tells PEOPLE at Ralph Lauren’s Olympics welcome party at Ralph’s Restaurant in Paris on July 27.

According to the official Olympics website, pin trading can be traced back to the first modern Olympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 1896. At the time, countries wore badges made of cardboard that were initially intended to denote the judges and Olympic officials. Greek athletes who were first-place finishers in the 1896 Olympic trials were specifically given cloth pins with the Greek national emblem, according to the International Association of Olympic Collectors (AICO).

Things evolved from there, with the pin production eventually becoming a fundraising means for the different Olympic delegations.

Now, the athletes, fans and staff all get in on the pin fun. In fact, there’s even a world Olympic pin collectors club called Olympin. According to the group’s website, Olympin “is a nonprofit group reaching some 500 members in over 30 countries.” It was formed after the Lake Placid Winter Games in 1982.

Countries make official pins, as do the individual sports teams within the delegations. Brands also create and distribute pins, as does the host country — this time, Paris.

Some of the offerings for sale in official merchandise locations include a pin shaped like a pigeon, one that resembles a stacked-up hamburger and many incorporating the Paris Olympics mascot, Phryges.

“We have USA skateboarding pins that are actually skateboards, which is really exciting,” Olympic skateboarder Jagger Eaton tells PEOPLE at the same Ralph Lauren event.

The pin trading offers athletes the opportunity to meet other Olympians in the Olympic Village, as well as interact with their teammates in other sports.

“Me and my teammates specifically, we’ve been trying to just explore the village now that we can and get to know people,” Ogbogu says. “The village has a really cool bar area that’s been really fun to hang out with and just trade pins. I’ve been on my pin game.”

So far, her most prized pin has been one she traded for with Team USA opening ceremony flagbearer Coco Gauff. “A little bit of a shout-out,” Ogbogu tells PEOPLE.

Wanting to get in on the Olympic pin trading? AICO has some key etiquette tips to follow. The most important rule, according to AICO, is: “Remember: a good trade is when both parties are happy!”

To learn more about all the Olympic and Paralympic hopefuls, come to people.com to check out ongoing coverage before, during and after the games. And sign up for Going for Gold, our Olympics newsletter, to get the biggest stories from the Games delivered straight to your inbox. Watch the Paris Olympics and Paralympics, beginning July 26, on NBC and Peacock.