Competitive bowler heading into Alberta Sports Hall of Fame

By Lethbridge Herald on September 15, 2025.

SUBMITTED PHOTO Dianne Violini will be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame later this month.

By Justin Seward

Lethbridge Herald

Long-time local competitive bowler Dianne Violini, who is now 75 years old, is set to be inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame for her successes in her five-pin bowling career later this month.

 “I don’t really know how to put it in words ,” said Violini , on what it means to be going to the ASHOF.

“It just seems to be the icing on the cake.”

She captured 29 provincial Women’s Singles championships , was crowned a  national champion seven times  in the singles division, she bowled to 29 titles with the provincial women’s team and crowned a six-time champion at the nationals as a part of a women’s team.

 She took home two provincial titles and a national team title as a part of mixed team in 1974.

Violini hit the podium 38 times at nationals, 14 of which were gold medal, and won five provincial and two national titles as a youth bowler.

“You have to really work at your game and that means going out and practicing,” said Violini, on how she was able to become a successful five-pin bowler.

“ If you want to really get ahead, you can’t just bowl in your own city.”

Violini found success  in her practices by going to other bowling lanes to see how their pins fall, finding  people to compete against  and learning the sport’s stresses while in competition.

Between her dad, Steve Pedersen’s, encouragement  for her to participate in things in her younger years  and  her husband Mike as a coach is what helped her evolve in the sport.

“Terrific coach,” said Violini, on husband Mike.

“He’s one that can point out the technical things and work on that. And then also as I progressed with it, you really had to develop your mental side of it which he could help with too.”

She learned off bowlers she admired in how they approached the game.

She stuck with competitive bowling because of the love she had for the sport.

“I loved the competition, I still love the competition but I just loved the experience of going and seeing all the different places in Canada ,” said Violini.

Violini has been inducted into the Canadian 5 pin Bowlers Association Hall of Fame (2019) and  the Lethbridge Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.

 She has also received the Masters Bowlers Association of Canada Award of Excellence in 1996, Government of Alberta-Centennial Recognition Award for Sport in 2005 and Recognition Award for Sport Canadian Top 100- Excellence in Sport in 2009.

Violini will be inducted during a 25th anniversary celebration of  the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame on Sept. 27.