Clad only in a bathing suit and walking around the pool at Planet Hollywood, Diana Ort could easily be mistaken for a human whiteboard. Scrawled across her chest in black sharpie are three signatures. Another graces her derriere. The faithful fan has traveled from San Diego to Las Vegas in order to root for her favorite team during their first match against an overseas competitor.

The team? San Diego Crossfire. The sport? Dodgeball.

If you thought dodgeball was too dorky to have groupies, think again. Actually, forget most of what you think you know. "At first (dodgeball) does sounds pretty silly," admits Crossfire player Alex Galloway. "There are a lot of misconceptions."

The biggest one, Galloway says, is that anybody can play dodgeball well. "People think it's not too athletic," he says, "but it takes a lot of skill."

He's right. This Doritos-sponsored match between the U.S. professional champions and an amateur team from Leeds, United Kingdom doesn't include any overweight or mentally incompetent players. Vince Vaughn as Peter La Fluer, the reluctant leader of a ragtag team called Average Joes from the 2004 film Dodgeball, is nowhere to be found.

Galloway grew up surfing. He's played baseball and football, and pole vaulted. He's far more athletic than the average Joe. He and his team members practice at least once a week, more during the weeks leading up to the National Dodgeball Championships.

During their nine games against the Leeds Hawkeyes, the members of Crossfire talk in codes, often jumping in unison and coordinating their throws toward the same opponent. "The trick is not to throw solo," Galloway explains.

The strategy, practice and athleticism show. Crossfire dominates, winning all nine games. Luckily, the Leeds team is just happy to have gotten the opportunity play and travel to Las Vegas. (The £10,000 they won for beating 33 other amateur British teams probably helped.) After the match is over, the Hawkeyes and Crossfire players joke and confirm plans to drink and celebrate together later.

While the teams are all smiles today, dodgeball has the ability to arouse stronger emotions.

"(The National Dodgeball Championship in) Vegas is super competitive," Galloway says. "Tons of verbal fights. No Mr. Nice Guy when it's game time."

The National Dodgeball Championship brings together scores of amateur dodgeball teams from across the country for three days of dodging, ducking, dipping, diving and dodging. (Those are the five D's of dodgeball, according to the film.)

It also encapsulates the entire season for the National Dodgeball League professional teams, of which San Diego's Crossfire is one. Oregon, Los Angeles, Seattle, Chicago, New York, Texas and Georgia also boast their own professional teams.

This year the National Dodgeball Championship is scheduled for Aug. 14 - 16 with registration now open.

Earning the title of professional or amateur dodgeball champions gives players a moment of national recognition. The recognition is important to players whose game is more often associated with emotionally scarred, physically bruised children on elementary school playgrounds than athletes who dedicate time and effort toward a sport.

"You just have to laugh," Crossfire player Tommy Viviano says of critics. "I tell people to YouTube our games. They watch them and they realize it's legit."

Luckily, recognition and respect for the world of dodgeball are growing. Despite the misconceptions it advanced, the 2004 film definitely increased interest in the sport. More recently, a Hanes commercial and the game show Deal Or No Deal has featured professional dodgeball players.

One charity event brought players from the San Diego Chargers and professional dodgeball leaguers together for a game. After owning them in dodgeball, Viviano had simple advice for the professional football players, "You stick to your sport. I'll stick to mine."

While their following is nowhere near that of the Chargers, or even most minor league sports teams, Crossfire does have fans. Diana Ort, the bubbly fan wearing only a bathing suit and sunglasses while standing courtside at the Planet Hollywood pool, is one of them, and she's a good reminder that while the game can be competitive, it's still ultimately about having fun.

"What can you like more than balls flying at boys?" she ponders after Crossfire's commanding win.

Ort has been a fan for years and has familial ties to the sport - her brother used to play. "I love how quick dodgeball is," she says. "If you blink you might miss something. It's awesome."

Ort remembers the Crossfire player's humble beginnings - playing amateur dodgeball at San Diego bar In Cahoots. "I was their biggest cheerleader," she says. "They kicked ass. They won everything. Other teams used to try to prove they were cheating."

Plots to sabotage? Maybe dodgeball the sport isn't so far off from Dodgeball the film after all.