Cranberry Township family’s badminton tournament persists for four decades
CRANBERRY TWP — It started in 1982, with a group of high school friends who describe themselves as “bored” and “ultracompetitive” and needed something to do that summer.
Four decades later, their creation — the Leisie Open — is still going strong. The open, which took place Sunday, July 12, drew dozens of players from across the country to return to the Leisie household in Cranberry Township for one day of singles and doubles action — and family bonding.
“It's something we built together with our families and our group of friends in high school,” said the event’s co-founder, Jim Walsh. “It’s a celebration of the bond that our families have, and of our long friendships that go back 40-plus years.”
According to another of the event’s co-founders, Chris Leisie, the event began as a way for him and his group of high school friends to stay in shape during the offseason.
“We were all on the wrestling team, and we used to find different ways to compete during the summer, with different sports like croquet and swimming and bocce ball,” Leisie said. “We started playing badminton and realized we all loved it so much. And since we were so competitive, we were like, ‘Let’s have a tournament.’ And then it just grew from there.”
The tournament began with seven players in 1982. It didn’t take long for the Leisie Open to balloon in popularity to the point where, according to Chris, roughly one-third of that year’s senior class at Seneca Valley participated in its third year in 1984.
“We had a doubles bracket, a singles bracket, and T-shirts and trophies and medals and everything,” Leisie said.
For the 2026 Open, this year’s event drew 18 participants, and featured singles and doubles brackets.
Each year, a large portion of the Leisie ranch is dedicated to the one day a year when it hosts the family badminton tournament. This includes three lined badminton courts with one set aside exclusively for doubles play, as well as a permanent wooden platform in the Leisies’ front yard which — aside from some minor side uses — is primarily used only on the day of the Leisie Open as an elevated referee stand.
“I have a weather station up there that needs to be elevated. I have a surveillance camera up there for my ducks because I raise ducks,” Leisie said. “But for the most part, I built it for that one purpose.”
For some, the Leisie Open is such a must-hit event that they voyage from out of town to Cranberry Township once a year to the Leisie residence.
“We have people coming from as far away as Idaho, Denver, Maryland, Boston, Missouri … they come from all over the country,” Leisie said.
Although he now lives in Denver, Jim Walsh still makes it a point to visit the Leisie Open each year. Jim has only missed a handful of tournaments since the event was founded.
“We have the slogan, ‘The Spectacle Continues.’ It was on the T-shirts our first two years,” Walsh said. “That's the spirit of why we're here. We're almost 60, but it continues.”
Jim’s brother, Greg, is also a co-founder and annual player, even though he currently lives in Frederick, Md.
“It’s just cool to see how it’s still going after all this time,” Greg said. “It’s just kind of an excuse to get together in a lot of ways.”
