Cindy Poluta, sports anchor par excellence, brilliant and loving mom, wife, role model and inspiration to so many in SA and globally shares her wonderful journey with us. Is it not amazing how some people can leave a sparkle wherever they go, or whatever they touch – this is Cindy. She is proof yet again that when you passionately love what you do – it exudes out into all spheres of life. Thank you Cindy for your legacy of goodness for now and for those coming after you, you have brilliantly paved the way for women in sport anchoring. You posted this on your Instagram recently – “God does not call the qualified, He qualifies the called”. Spot on!
Asked to share a challenge to our youth she says – “Not so much a challenge. Just some advice: work hard. Set yourself goals, and then work towards them. When I was in my 20’s all my friends were going out all weekend and I would be working early mornings in radio, or long hours in TV. Don’t get me wrong I definitely partied but at the same time I just kept thinking “short term sacrifice for a long term goal” – and it paid off. Hard work never killed anyone just always remember “short term sacrifice for a long term goal”.
Q: You are passionate and doing brilliantly as our Sports Anchor – the beautiful voice we all wake up to in the morning 🙂, tell me a little bit about how you started in sports presenting and your journey up to now?
My story really is one of “right place, at the right time”. I started at 702 fresh out of school, as a student answering the calls on the traffic desk. From there, I got a break on air reading traffic on 947’s Rude Awakening with Jeremy Mansfield and Sam Cowen, which developed into weekend sports anchoring. I have two older brothers who love sport, and so it was just a way of life for me. After about a year or so, I went for an audition at SuperSport, which turned into a 5 year career in tv presenting. But radio is my passion. I am currently the morning sports anchor on both Talk Radio 702 and 947, two of Joburg’s biggest breakfast shows. I am also sports editor for EWN Sport. When I left school I had NO idea what I wanted to do with my life – and so my student job has become my career.
Q: You are hectic with being a mom and sports anchor, how do you manage to balance all aspects of your life?
To be honest, I really don’t know. I feel there is no balance. It’s a case of everything and everyone has to “give and take”. So at some stages work is not too busy and I manage to focus on home life and vice versa. In South Africa we really are fortunate with the amount of live sport broadcaster on SuperSport – but one can’t spend every weekend watching everything that is on. So I try prioritise what I really want to watch and try schedule time around that. Over the last year or so, I really have learned to put my family first; to put my phone down and listen to my children. My office hours are 4:30am-12:30pm, but sport is 24/7 so there really is no “logging out”. I have had to consciously make a point of not picking up my phone to check emails and social media , when I’m with my kids – and it’s taken a while for me to break the habit of “working” while with my children.
Q: What are you most grateful for at the moment in your life?
First, most definitely family: my husband and 2 children, as well as my extended family – and then definitely my health, and my job.
Q: Do you want to share a little bit about your faith journey?
I was raised Catholic, growing up we went to church every Sunday up until my confirmation where after my parents allowed me the choose when I wanted to go to church. I do still try go every Sunday, as my faith is very dear to me and a relationship with God and Jesus is of utmost importance.
Q: Name 2 things on your bucket list? Career and personal 🙂
Career wise, there really is not much left on my bucket list. I can honestly say I have reached all my career goals that I wish I had dreamed bigger – perhaps it’s time to set new ones. My personal bucket list is definitely to travel more, and I would love to go to a Wimbledon final.
Q: What do you do to relax?
Don’t laugh but I knit, or go for a run. But if I do get some time free I like to catch up on sleep.
Q: One thing about Cindy that your fans does not know 🙂
I have fans??? I am pretty much an open book. What you see is what you get. I have no deep dark secrets.
Q: Does a person ever get over nerves the moment before going live 🙂?
The nerves have eased on radio somewhat, but I still cannot do live TV or public speaking. I really struggle with that. Radio is a breeze. TV not at all.
Q: I love the way you have blended social media into your work and personal life – do you want to share on this?
Social media has just become part of my everyday life. It’s become another avenue of getting a message out there faster. It’s a way of staying informed. It has definitely made the world a smaller place for us in media.
I like to post on Instagram and Facebook as it’s also a way to “save” my pictures and experiences for the future. I’d like my children to one day scroll through my timelines and see how much I love and appreciate them. We also forget so much, and over the years it’s wonderful to be able to reflect on past memories.
Q: What is your why? What legacy do you want to leave behind for those coming after you?
I would really love to find a way to grow and nurture future sports anchors. That maybe there’s someone out there who thinks “I want to be like Cindy Poluta”. I’m not sure how I would go about it, but I hope I have opened the door for many female sports broadcasters in the country.
Q: Our youth is our hope and our future – what would your challenge be to our youth / sports youth?
Not so much a challenge. Just some advice: work hard. Set yourself goals, and then work towards them. When I was in my 20’s all my friends were going out all weekend and I would be working early mornings in radio, or long hours in TV. Don’t get me wrong I definitely partied but at the same time I just kept thinking “short term sacrifice for a long term goal” – and it paid off. Hard work never killed anyone just always remember “short term sacrifice for a long term goal”.
Thank you so much for taking this interview. We would like to wish you all the best for your journey and endeavours ahead. We look forward to following you as you go from strength to strength. Blessings!
