François Lavoie (born February 27, 1993) is a right-handed Canadian ten-pin bowler from

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

, Quebec, Canada, now making his home in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. He is a member of the

Professional Bowlers Association The Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) is the major sanctioning body for the sport of professional ten-pin bowling in the United States. Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, and currently owned by the Lucky Strike Entertainment Corpor ...

, and has been a member of Team Canada. Lavoie has won six

PBA Tour The PBA Tour is the major professional tour for tenpin bowling, operated by the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA). Headquartered in Mechanicsville, Virginia, over 3,000 members worldwide make up the PBA. While most of the PBA members are Reg ...

titles, including three major championships. He is one of only four players in history to roll a perfect 300 game in two televised PBA Tour title events, and the only player to bowl a 300 game in a U.S. Open telecast. Lavoie is a member of the

Storm A storm is any disturbed state of the natural environment or the atmosphere of an astronomical body. It may be marked by significant disruptions to normal conditions such as strong wind, tornadoes, hail, thunder and lightning (a thunderstor ...

and Turbo Grips pro staffs.

Amateur career

Lavoie won the 2013 World Bowling Championships trios gold medal (partners: Mark Buffa and Patrick Girard). In 2014, Lavoie won the Intercollegiate ''Singles'' Championship as a member of the

Wichita State University Wichita State University (WSU) is a public research university in Wichita, Kansas, United States. It is governed by the Kansas Board of Regents. The university offers more than 60 undergraduate degree programs in more than 200 areas of study in ...

bowling team. In 2015, Lavoie won the Intercollegiate ''Team'' Championship with Wichita State University, and the Pan Am Games doubles gold medal (with partner Dan MacLelland) in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

. During the men's doubles event Lavoie scored a perfect game in the fifth round, the first in

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

history. Lavoie was a four-time member of Youth Team Canada, and has been a four-time member of adult Team Canada. With Team Canada, he has won eight international medals (4 gold, 1 silver, 3 bronze). In 2019, Lavoie was named to Canada's 2019 Pan American Games team.

Professional bowling career

Lavoie joined the

(PBA) in 2015. In his first full PBA Tour season (2016), Lavoie won two titles, including his first major championship at the U.S. Open. He was named the 2016 Harry Golden Rookie of the Year. He is the second Canadian to win a PBA Tour title (following Graham Fach), and the first to win a standard (non-major) title. In 2017, Lavoie won his third PBA Tour title at the Xtra Frame Greater Jonesboro Open. He then went without a title for all of 2018. On October 30, 2019, Lavoie won his fourth title and second major, again in the U.S. Open. On February 28, 2021, Lavoie won his fifth PBA Tour title and third major at the Kia PBA Tournament of Champions. Lavoie climbed from the No. 5 seed in the stepladder final, beating a PBA major champion in all four of his matches to take the title and $100,000 top prize. On April 18, 2021, Lavoie won the Guaranteed Rate PBA Super Slam, a special non-title event featuring the five winners of the 2021 major championships. He defeated PBA Players Championship winner

Kyle Troup Kyle Troup (born June 11, 1991) is an American professional ten-pin bowler. He uses the two-handed shovel-style delivery with a dominant right hand. Troup says he needed two hands when learning to throw the ball as a young child, calling himsel ...

in the final match to earn his second $100,000 first place check of the season. Lavoie qualified as the #4 seed at the 2021 PBA Tour Playoffs and made it to the semifinal round before being eliminated by top seed Kyle Troup. Lavoie finished runner-up to Troup in the 2021

Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene Schenkel (August 21, 1923 – September 11, 2005) was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and b ...

PBA Player of the Year voting. Through the 2024 season, Lavoie's PBA earnings total over US$830,000, with $375,145 of that coming in the 2021 season alone. He has rolled seven 300 games in PBA competition. Among these perfect games, Lavoie recorded the PBA's 26th televised 300 game in the semifinal match of the 2016 U.S. Open against Shawn Maldonado, who scored 211. This was just the sixth televised perfect game in a major tournament, and the first ever in the U.S. Open finals. Lavoie also recorded the PBA’s 29th televised 300 game in the Round of 16 at the 2020 PBA Tour Playoffs, becoming the second bowler in PBA history to roll two televised 300 games in an official PBA Tour event (the first being

Sean Rash Sean Rash (born August 22, 1982) is an American professional Ten-pin bowling, ten-pin bowler who is considered one of the top players on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) Tour. He currently owns 17 PBA Tour titles, including two major ...

, whom Lavoie coincidentally defeated in this PBA Playoffs match). Chris Via and

Jason Belmonte Jason Belmonte (born 29 July 1983) is an Australian professional ten-pin bowling, ten-pin bowler. He plays on the PBA Tour in the United States and in world events. He is known for being one of the first bowlers to gain media attention for usi ...

have since become members of this exclusive club. On August 3, 2024, Lavoie earned his sixth PBA Tour title at the PBA/PBA50/PWBA Jonesboro Trios, with partners Tom Hess and Breanna Clemmer. This was the first-ever mixed trios event to award titles to PBA, PBA50 and PWBA players.

PBA Tour wins

Major titles in bold type. # 2016 U.S. Open (

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) (Followed

Mika Koivuniemi Mika Juhani Koivuniemi (born 6 April 1967) is a Finnish professional ten-pin bowler and bowling coach. He competed on the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA) tour in the United States, and won bowling titles in 21 different countries during h ...

as the second international player to win the U.S. Open.) # 2016 Shark Championship (

Reno, Nevada Reno ( ) is a city in the northwest section of the U.S. state of Nevada, along the Nevada–California border. It is the county seat and most populous city of Washoe County, Nevada, Washoe County. Sitting in the High Eastern Sierra foothills, ...

) # 2017 Xtra Frame Greater Jonesboro Open (

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

) # 2019 U.S. Open (

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) # 2021

PBA Tournament of Champions The PBA Tournament of Champions is one of the five major PBA (Professional Bowlers Association) bowling events. It is an invitational event and the only PBA Tour major that does not have any open field. All participants must meet qualifications to ...

(

Jupiter, Florida Jupiter is the northernmost town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 US Census, the town had a population of 61,047. It is 84 miles north of Miami and 15 miles north of West Palm Beach, Florida, West Palm Beach. ...

) # 2024 PBA/PBA50/PWBA Jonesboro Trios w/ Tom Hess and Breanna Clemmer (Jonesboro, Arkansas)

Non-title wins

* 2021 PBA Super Slam Cup Lavoie also owns eleven PBA Regional titles, and he won the (non-title) PBA Regional Challenge at the 2017 PBA World Series of Bowling in Reno, NV. He was the 2016 Southwest Region Rookie of the Year and 2018 Southwest Region Player of the Year.

Career statistics

+CRA = Championship Round Appearances (PBA Tour only)

Personal

Lavoie graduated from

with a degree in business administration. He claims to have started bowling at age 2, and he also enjoys ice hockey and tennis. In August 2022, Lavoie was elected Chairman of the International Bowling Federation (IBF) Athletes Committee.

References

External links

François Lavoie
at the

archive
* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lavoie, Francois 1993 births Canadian ten-pin bowling players Living people Sportspeople from Quebec City World Games gold medalists for Canada World Games medalists in bowling Pan American Games gold medalists in bowling Pan American Games gold medalists for Canada Bowlers at the 2015 Pan American Games Bowlers at the 2019 Pan American Games Bowlers at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2017 World Games