Think only “girly” girls like online dress up games? Guess again, sports fans.

A recent online survey found some 35 sports dress up games for girls on just one gaming website. Multiply that example by the dozens of online sites for girls’ games, and it quickly becomes apparent that female athletes love playing dress up as much as their fashionista friends.

Name a sport regularly pursued by girls – and some unexpected ones as well – and there’s a game for it. Dress up games cover a range from tennis and cycling to jogging and even boxing! There are dress up games for winter sports and skating, for horseback riding and even for water sports such as kayaking and swimming with dolphins. Baseball, roller-skating, cheerleading, you name it – female athletes can exercise their imaginations as well as their muscles in these online games.

The value of these games extends far beyond having a good time. For generations girls were taught that women didn’t participate in athletics, keeping them from engaging in activities to boost their health. Today, however, girls are encouraged to start movin’ and groovin’ at early ages so that they’ll become comfortable and assured in their bodies.

Playing dress up games for girls that emphasize sports-related outfits helps girls see themselves as athletes. By playing imaginative online games such as these, girls are encouraged to move beyond merely dressing up digital dolls to trying out some of these active sports on their own. Before long “click and drag” becomes “get up and go!”