Los Altos girl out to 'squash' inequality: 10-year-old raises funds for female players
- admin
- Jun 24, 2015
- 3 min read
Young Los Altos resident Mika Bardin’s positive energy, indomitable will and athleticism have propelled her to status as one of the highest-ranked players in the sport of squash. She is using some of those same attributes to help other female squash players get “equal pay for play.”
Ten-year-old Mika, ranked No. 14 nationally in her age group, has launched a GoFundMe page in an effort to promote equal pay for women squash players. She did so after noticing that the prize money for men in the 2015 NetSuite Open Squash Championships was $100,000, while the women’s purse was initially $10,000. The event is scheduled Sept. 25-29 at Justin Herman Plaza in San Francisco. This is the first year NetSuite opened the competition to women.
Tournament organizers support Mika’s efforts. Event producer John Nimick noted that the prize money has jumped to a $25,000 world-ranking level, thanks to a “very determined” Mika.
“Mika is a fast-rising, nationally ranked junior whose mantra ‘Equal Pay for Play’ … led to the creation of a GoFundMe page dedicated to growing the women’s purse,” Nimick wrote online. “Go, Mika!”
NetSuite founder Evan Goldberg responded with a $5,000 donation to her cause.
The GoFundMe page is just one of Mika’s efforts to improve women’s standing in society. She also has a Facebook page, titled GirlShape by Mika, which encourages girls and women to appreciate themselves no matter their body shapes.
LACK OF FAIRNESS
It seemed only a matter of time before this outspoken squash player would spot an injustice and spring into action. Mika said she recently came across a U.S. squash website that showed a male squash player with “a ginormous trophy,” while the female winner had a much smaller trophy.
“They both won first place – the difference was different genders. That’s not fair,” Mika said last week in an interview with the Town Crier.
It served in part as inspiration for starting the crowdfunding site. As of last week, she has raised more than $6,200 since the June 9 launch of her GoFundMe site (gofundme.com/wm4h2c). Her goal is $15,000.
“Everybody knows that females don’t make as much as males, especially in sports. And everybody knows that this is wrong, but nothing changes unless you start a spark,” Mika wrote on her GoFundMe page. “I am asking every single one of you to help me start a spark, because things need to change NOW.”
Mika said women and girls play squash and train just as hard as men and boys, so they deserve to be paid “the exact same.”
“If you have a daughter, how are you going to explain to her that she won’t get paid as much for working just as hard or harder than males do?” she asked.
“This is all her,” said Lisa Bardin, Mika’s equally energetic mom. “Mika works very hard. I’m very proud of her.”
The Bardin family, also including dad Noam and sister Shai, has lived in Los Altos the past five years.
A NATURAL
Mika came across the sport she has mastered in just a short time virtually by accident. Her mother initially took her to Stanford’s Arrillaga Center for Sports and Recreation for rock-climbing lessons. When they arrived, they saw paramedics tending to a young climber who had fallen. Dissuaded, the Bardins came across a squash court as they headed for the exit. A conversation with a squash player led Mika to take some swings.
“She loved it from the second she had the racket,” Lisa said.
Perseverance is another of Mika’s traits. She has been undeterred by dyslexia and recent treatment of a benign tumor in her left temple.
This is one determined girl.
“I’m really excited that I’m going to reach my goal,” Mika said of her fundraising effort.
Naturally, she’s not satisfied with a No. 14 national ranking.
“I’m trying hard to be No. 1,” she said. “It’s not all fun and games.”
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