Northern Ont. bowler wins three medals, breaks national record

A northern Ontario five-pin bowler brought home three medals and set a new record at a recent national competition.

In June, Sudbury's Renée Laframboise competed in both the ladies' singles and team divisions at the Canadian 5-Pin Open Nationals in Edmonton, earning herself a gold and a bronze for her team.

"I went from not having any medals, to winning a bronze for my team, and then a gold for myself and a few weeks winning silver at a different masters," she said.

"So I went from having no medals to having three within the course of a month."

The last time a local bowler won a gold medal on a national level was 37 years ago. Laframboise's mother, Elaine, said 21 women from Sudbury have competed nationally from that time, but none have brought home gold.

"It’s a very difficult task," she said.

"The reality is you'll make many trips to nationals and not come home with a medal."

Laframboise's parents previously owned Whitewater Lanes in Azilda, which is where she began bowling at age four. Her mother coaches bowling and said she enjoys fostering self-confidence.

In June, Sudbury's Renée Laframboise competed in both the ladies' singles and team divisions at the Canadian 5-Pin Open Nationals in Edmonton, earning herself a gold and a bronze for her team. (Photo courtesy of Renée Laframboise)

"Self-confidence is a hard animal to capture," she said. "Sometimes you second-guess yourself and your job as a coach is to teach these young ladies and young men that they're capable."

In Edmonton, Laframboise was playing 13 games in three days, from roughly 10 a.m. to 11 p.m.

"It was a long week," she said.

During that time, she set an open national record of 21 games for 5,765, a record that hasn't been broken since 2007.

"I had no idea honestly. I was just trying to bowl," she said.

"And then after the 20th game they came and told me you just broke the record, so I was a little flummoxed."

She then went on to win a silver medal at the Masters Nationals for a singles event.

Laframboise said she hopes to defend her title. She will be preparing for qualifiers in November and hopes to head to provincials and then nationals again next year.