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"Volleyball!" yelled a 9-year-old girl as she cannonballed into the pool. And as though she were an umpire announcing the end of a time-out, people left their beers and other drinks, got up from the surrounding tables, and followed her into the water.

Water sports are staple summer entertainment at the 11-year-old resort in Wise County, along with horseshoes and darts. But water volleyball - even nude water volleyball, the only kind they play at Wildwood Naturist Park - just isn't drawing many young people anymore, and that's a problem.

Naturist camps, it seems, like newspapers and music stores in the clothed world, are having trouble attracting the younger generation these days.

What to do? Have a mass skinny-dip-in. That's coming up on July 11 at 2 p.m., when Wildwood and other similar clubs around the country try to set a world record for the largest number of people bathing in their birthday suits at one time.

The mass dip-in is the inspiration of the American Association for Nude Recreation, which contacted the Guinness World Records keepers to see what kind of new record a bunch of unclothed people might be able to set.

Beatrice Taylor, manager and part-owner of Wildwood, sees the problem firsthand. When she, her husband, and four others bought the land and founded the club in 1997, the average age of those who joined was 40. Now, she said, it's 45.

She's tried to reach area young people: She called North Texas college newspapers and radio stations to ask about buying ads. Wildwood didn't want to advertise orgies or any of the other snicker-inducing activities that people who wear clothes often assume start happening when lots of people get naked together. Just natural living - and maybe a membership discount for young people who could show, say, a school ID card.

But no one returned her calls. "I don't know why the schools won't call me back," she said. "I'm willing to pay."

The world-record skinny-dipping attempt isn't an offer by Wildwood to open its gates to those who just want to ogle others for the day. Visitors are allowed, but they must sign and obey the same rules as members. Nudity is required, drugs are prohibited, and "overt sexual activity" is not tolerated. "We want participators, not spectators," Taylor said.

Perhaps it's not surprising that camps like Wildwood are having a little trouble with the twentysomething crowd. The nudist movement, after all, grew up in the 1950s and '60s. And the delights of living with skin exposed to the sun may seem foreign to a generation that's become pasty-faced from too many hours of video gaming and 'net surfing.

Taylor and other Wildwood members said that if people, young or old, can just be convinced to try nude living, there's an excellent chance they'll be hooked. It's what happened to most of them - doctors, lawyers, bankers, plumbers, teachers, people from all walks of life.

Jim Parker lives a few miles from Wildwood, works for the government, and is on the board of directors of AANR. Through the years, when he was transferred from Dallas to Washington, D.C., and Kansas City by his employers, he remained loyal to nudism and Wildwood.

Ten years ago, he said, he gave his wife two options for an anniversary present: a tattoo or a visit to a nudist resort. She opted for the latter. Now Parker has trouble remembering to grab a robe before he answers his door. "It's just comfortable," he said.

At Wildwood, "When I hit the gate, my stress leaves," he said.

Hillary Bell, 18, was lounging by the pool, unwrapping a snack cake. Her parents introduced her to Wildwood a year ago, and at first, nudism "freaked me out." But, "after 15 minutes, I didn't care," she said.

Bell attended Nude U, a young adult camp for nudists, in June. According to the AANR web site, Nude U teaches college-age nudists how to "build the nudist community from within." AANR also sponsors the Youth Ambassador Program, which brings young nudists together to learn how to "spread the word."

Some of Bell's friends don't respond well when they learn she's a nudist, she said. She tells when it's necessary and prefers to pass on information only if friends are interested, rather than actively trying to drum up new members.

On the private road leading to Wildwood, visitors reach a red iron gate and a sign that says "Nudity may be encountered beyond this point." Wildwood isn't "clothing optional." Visitors to the resort are asked to disrobe - Taylor and many other naturists think it's the people who keep their clothes on, while looking at people who've taken theirs off, who are perverted.

Taylor became a convert after 16 years of coaxing from her husband. On her first visit to a nudist resort in Florida, she said, it took only a few minutes for her shyness to disappear. "It's just nice to walk and feel rain on your skin, walk out and feel the warm sun. It's sensual, not sexual," she said.

In 1993, she joined Bluebonnet, a naturist park a few miles from Wildwood. But she wanted her own club. When an attempt to buy Bluebonnet failed a few years later, she and her husband and their friends bought the land for Wildwood.

Today about 20 people live on the 118-acre park, and another 110 are members. Each day, many of the park residents commute to outside jobs. Some worry that people in the larger community might find out about their lifestyle and cause problems.

Others, such as Taylor, don't leave the park for months at a time. Once, she said, after she'd gained weight, she needed to dress for a funeral but found that nothing in her closet fit.

Taylor, 59, theorizes that it's tough to attract young people to nudist parks because they're more self-conscious about their bodies than people a little older. When college students do visit Wildwood, she said, they usually do so out of curiosity and aren't repeat customers.

If people aren't comfortable with their bodies, then becoming nudists isn't right for them, Taylor said. There's a certain time in one's life, usually later, when self-acceptance is achieved, she said - and when people stop worrying about staring and being stared at.

In the meantime, Wildwood hosts a potluck dinner every weekend. Naked Flamingo Casino Nite, an annual evening of card-playing, usually draws nearly 100 people, Taylor said.

Parker decorates the park every Halloween with plastic spiders, black crepe paper, and ghouls. Taylor proudly displays the pictures of last October's crowd - a man dressed as a belly dancer, one couple sharing a military costume, a woman wearing only a witch's hat and cape.

About 40 Wildwood nudists warmly greeted this Fort Worth Weekly reporter after I "got comfortable" - nudist lingo for shedding clothes. They showed me family photos and invited me to play volleyball.

"You need to get rid of those tan lines, young lady," Parker said.