Beach volleyball is all about fun. At least that is what it looked like at Green Hope Elementary on Saturday where about 70 volleyball enthusiasts gathered for a good natured weekend tournament as part of the State Games of North Carolina.

Onlookers lounged under umbrellas, occasionally dousing themselves with water to stay cool in the afternoon heat.

The tournament was organized by vh1vball, a Triangle volleyball group, and featured play on grass and sand.

The "vh" in vh1vball stands for Vaughn Hastings, the man who helped bring area volleyball players together for competitive play.

"I started playing to meet people," said Hastings of his interest in volleyball.

Standing shirtless and wearing a green visor, Hastings was a little winded as he spoke. Not only did he organize the tournament, he was competing too.

Hastings said that he moved to North Carolina from Virginia after college and began playing as a social activity.

He began organizing tournaments informally 10 years ago and found that the sport had quite a following in the state. Then he formed vh1vball and became a full-time promoter and organizer.

This year was the first time that the State Games included doubles outdoor volleyball, Hastings said.

Of his own chances in the Games, he added: "I'm one of the older people, so I have that going against me."

Along with the fun there was also some competitive needling on the court. Doubles partners Renata Fecteau and Linda Lang discussed the prospect that they would have to play their daughters, Adria Fecteau and Lindsay Lang, at some point during the weekend.

"We can still take them," Renata Fecteau said. "Besides, they would be grounded if they beat us."

Lindsay Lang suggested a wager on the game.

"You can pay for all the clothes I bought," she said.

Linda Lang suggested washing dishes for a week if the mothers won. They ended up meeting twice over the weekend and the mothers bested the daughters both times. Linda Lang says that she has not started collecting on the dishwashing wager yet.

Despite the joking, both the mothers and daughters were serious about volleyball. The daughter doubles team will compete in a national Junior Olympics event in Virginia Beach in August.

Meanwhile, Jason Callahan and Larry Saletsky were laughing and warming up on the sand next to the women's games.

Callahan summed up the laid-back nature of the weekend best when describing how he first became interested in volleyball.

"I had never really played much before," he said. "But I just love the beach."

Contact Adam Linker at 467-3391 or alinker@nando.com.