By ERIC McHUGH
The Patriot Ledger

QUINCY - Be advised that when you go to one of Leonard Armato’s beach volleyball tournaments, he wants to “activate” you.

That’s why he’s got Geeter, the human “on” switch.

Microphone and quips always at the ready, Chris “Geeter” McGee is the high-energy master of ceremonies for each and every stop on Armato’s AVP Crocs Tour. Fans can catch his act - actually, it’s impossible to miss it - at this week’s Bob’s Stores Boston Open at Marina Bay in Quincy.

“He whips the crowd up into a frenzy and gets everybody going,” said Armato, the CEO and commissioner of the Association of Volleyball Professionals. “He is the focal point of our center-court entertainment.

Fans in Hermosa, Calif., cheer the action at an AVP Crocs Tour event in 2006.

“It’s that very style of sports-slash-entertainment that made this the most popular sport at the Olympics. Fans are used to going to these major sporting events and sort of sitting there and standing upon a lot of etiquette. In beach volleyball we’re a little more irreverent. Not disrespectfully, but we’re irreverent in the sense that you want the fans to make noise, you want them to get involved, you want them to feel like they’re part of the action. Geeter does an incredible job of that.”

“He’s the best in the world,” agreed women’s star Kerri Walsh, who teams with Misty May-Treanor to form the top duo on the tour. “He just brings something so special to what we do. He’s hilarious. He has so much knowledge about the sport. He’s brilliant. You have to come and experience Geeter. He gets the crowd going like nothing I’ve ever seen in my life.”

McGee, a 35-year-old father-to-be, was a volleyballer himself in a previous life, starring for the Cal State-Northridge team that lost the 1993 NCAA final to UCLA. His setting days are over, unless setting the scene counts, which it does in the ultra-hip beach version of the sport.

McGee, who last ventured into Boston for a Red Sox-Angels series in 2003 - he sat in the stands and resisted the temptation to commandeer the public-address system - said his main goal for every tour stop is to “get the vibe right.”

The vibe is an important part of the AVP experience. Technically, the volleyball itself is the main attraction, although Armato concedes that the whole “girls-in-bikinis” angle is a huge selling point. But he says that those who turn out expecting a beauty pageant on the women’s side - there’s a men’s draw, too - are quickly struck by the sheer athleticism of the beach game.

Still, a ticket entitles you to several hours on site, and fans are not encouraged to remained nailed to their seats for the entire time. Just the opposite, in fact - they’re encouraged to immerse themselves in what Armato calls the “highest level of beach lifestyle you’re ever going to experience.”

GARY HIGGINS/The Patriot Ledger

Matt Isaacs of Randolph plays in the qualifying tournament, as local amateurs participate in a play-in for the right to compete against professionals in the weekend's pro beach volleyball tournament.

“And by that,” he said, “I mean beautiful people in beach attire, surrounded by an interactive environment which spans everything from music to the opportunity to test your skills against the beach volleyball pros on the Crocs Court. There are a lot of interactive opportunities for fans to get activated out there. There’s the Xbox Party Zone, the search for the “Ultimate Beach Girl and Guy” that (Jose) Cuervo (the tequila giant) is hosting.

“This is the best day at the beach you could ever have. And you combine that with world-class athletic competition and we think we have an unbeatable competition.”

Before buying the AVP Tour in 2001, Armato was a high-powered sports agent whose client list included NBA stars Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Hakeem Olajuwon. He said the NBA in the 1980s and 1990s “set the standard for converging sports and entertainment, and marketing as well.”

Beach volleyball is thinking along the same lines, which is why a tour stop nowadays is part athletic competition, part music festival and part outdoor mall.

“There are so many families and single people. There’s something for everybody,” Walsh said. “We have such good sponsors who take such good care (of the fans) and bring some interactive things to the site. If your favorite team’s not playing or you need a break from the volleyball, you’re going to find something to do. There’s great food, great music. The music is one of the highlights of the AVP. And there’s unbelievable volleyball going on.

“It is kind of like a concert atmosphere. People are happy and healthy and walking around in bathing suits and just really enjoying the atmosphere. Little kids, 2-, 3-year-olds, love it and so do grandparents.”

One of the other selling points for the tour is the accessibility of its players, who mingle with fans throughout the day. No chance that Curt Schilling will plop down next to you in the bleachers at Fenway Park if he’s not pitching that day. But at a beach volleyball event, you easily could find yourself striking up a conversation with Walsh and May-Treanor, or men’s stars such as Jake Gibb, Mike Lambert and Todd Rogers.

“It’s insane at times,” Walsh said with a laugh. “We have fans coming up to us when we’re in our timeout box asking for autographs. We’re like, ‘No, honey, we’re working here. We’ll get you after the game.’ But we are really accessible. I think the players love that part of it. And the fans certainly appreciate it.

“When I’m watching my competitors, I’m sitting right there in the stands with the crowd. It’s a pretty special atmosphere, a place to meet your favorite beach volleyball players. You’re certainly going to run into everybody out there.”

Including Geeter.

Eric McHugh may be reached at emchugh@ledger.com.