Stories of NBL1: Whittle talks PanKind and LGBTIQA+ involvement

On the court, Marena Whittle is a star for the Ringwood Hawks in NBL1 South, entering her second season with the Adelaide Lightning and emerging in the world of 3x3 basketball. 

Not only is she working tirelessly to improve her game off the court, but she is also working tirelessly to make a difference in the pancreatic cancer and LGBTIQA+ communities. 

This September, Whittle completed 63km to represent the (approximately) 63 people who pass away from pancreatic cancer in Australia each week. 

The cause, which was part of PanKind’s Remember September initiative, was particularly close to Whittle’s heart, having seen her aunty battle pancreatic cancer for 18 months eight years ago. 

Being in America at the time attending North Dakota State University made it even harder on Whittle, who reflected on the experience on Stories of NBL1. 

“I think people were trying to protect me from how bad the situation was,” she says. 

“I left (for America) in August, and every month the skype (calls) got a little bit longer and then it got to January and my aunty really deteriorated. 

“She was really skinny and she couldn't really talk much. 

“I got the call from Mum in March that it's time to come home. 

“My conference tournament was in March as well so I spoke to my coaches and as soon as my team was done, I jumped on a plane the next day, got home on the Wednesday and saw my aunty on the Wednesday night. 

“I had dinner with her and then she was back in hospital on Friday and unfortunately passed away on Saturday or Sunday so yeah, it was really really tough to be there.” 

Even though seeing her aunty suffer was hard, Whittle was simply glad to see her for one last time in person, rather than over a screen while in America.

“Getting home and seeing her and being able to share that time with her, as little as it was, I'm so grateful for it,” she says. 

“I think she was actually waiting to see me. 

“The human body is amazing, the human spirit is amazing.” 

Whittle is also passionate about creating safe spaces for people in the LGBTIQA+ community, particularly in Australian basketball. 

She was involved with an LGBTIQA+ basketball organisation, Bushrangers Basketball and has advocated for a WNBL Pride Round as well as successfully getting an Adelaide Lightning Pride Game going. 

Sport was once daunting for those in the community, but Whittle says she can see impressive progress being made in basketball. 

This became evident for her when she and her partner, Anneli Maley, trained together at Maley’s home NBL1 South club, Eltham, when Victorian restrictions permitted. 

The stadium has a rainbow flag proudly displayed, which Whittle says goes a long way to creating safe spaces in the basketball community.

“It creates a safe space where people feel comfortable to be themselves, which I think is massive,” the 27-year-old says. 

“I just find that it’s so important that people feel comfortable to just enjoy who they are as a human being. 

“Whether they're on any letter of that alphabet, we can all be ourselves at any time of the day and we should all be respected for that. 

“I love where the world's going and I love where basketball is going in this space.” 

Whittle is currently gearing up for the upcoming WNBL season and with uncertainties surrounding border restrictions, she is aware that hubs could once again be an option. 

While she admits she struggled in last year’s hub, she believes she will be better for it if hubs return this season. 

“I think I took a lot away from last year, getting swept up in the excitement of it all,” she reflects. 

“I didn't seem to find much time to take care of my mental health. 

“It's so important to take care of yourself whether it's like five minutes to go get a coffee by yourself or make some calls to home. 

“I don't think that I had any sort of communication consistently with my family and my friends back in Victoria. 

“So if we do go into a hub situation, and the season does get a little bit disrupted… I need to keep my lines of communication open with my family and I need to keep those relationships active. 

“I need to reach out if I need help with my family and I need to find those people within my team or within my staff or within my coaching group or within the league. 

“I actually don't think I'll be too mad if we do go into a hub because last year's prepared me so much. 

“I'm just excited to play a proper season.”