Driven. Dedicated. Disciplined.
These are a few words that describe Gen Urquidi.
Born in the Philippines, Gen spent her first decade in Manila. Then, her family moved to Southern California, where she has called home for over 30 years.
Gen is a mother to three adult children. With her youngest graduating early, she finds herself in a new season of life. “It’s a different kind of life,” she says. “I still want to be active, but at the same time, balance out my career as an accountant, and also be a mom.”
The balance between strength and service, independence and community, is a part of what led her to OpenWater.
OpenWater came into Gen’s life just at the right time, but her heart for service started long before. She spent six years as a leader with Team Red, White & Blue, organizing physical and social activities to help veterans transition after military service.
“I thrive in an environment where I can serve,” she explains. After a season of rest, she discovered OpenWater at an event at the Newport Aquatic Center. Then came a “full circle” moment, a friend connected her to Whitney just as OpenWater was forming a women’s team to paddle from Catalina to Newport Beach.
“When that happened, I was like, ‘okay, this was meant to be,’” Gen says.
An experienced paddler, Gen picked up the sport in 2022 after a knee surgery ended a decade-long chapter of distance running. “I did half marathons, marathons, ultra marathons… I find that I really like grinding it out for long periods of time.” When her knees could no longer handle the miles on pavement, she found a new endurance challenge on the water.
“I think that’s what paddling has been for me,” she says. “I could still do long distance, but it is a team sport.” And the team element changed everything. “As an adult, we don’t really get to do a lot of team sports,” she says. “I feel like outrigger is not just a sport, but it’s a community.”
Now serving as Team Captain for OpenWater’s women’s six-man outrigger canoe (OC6) team, Gen helps lead training and organization as they prepare to cross the Catalina Channel this April. After captaining last year’s crew, she came into this season with a plan.
“There has to be a structure. We have to start earlier. We have to teach people the basics,” she says. With Coach Nani’s guidance and a shared paddling philosophy among the leadership, Gen has helped build a program rooted in consistency, drills, and teamwork. “It’s training everything to be muscle memory.”
She’s especially excited to see newer paddlers grow into their strength. “The exciting part is like, ‘whoa, I can really feel the boat move now,’” she says. “You’re not just hearing it, you’re doing it.”
For Gen, the Catalina crossing is bigger than miles across open water. It’s about joint effort and belief. “It’s bringing people together, working together, and accomplishing what is impossible,” she says. “Because if you look at it, that’s a big thing. But then when you work together, you’re like, ‘hey, we made this thing happen.’ And that’s pretty amazing. And no one can take that away from you.”
As a mother, leader, and athlete, she shares a message for women who may be hesitant to jump into their own adventure.
“As a mom, we tend to always prioritize everybody first,” she says. “But sometimes it’s nice to just take the time to come out and just do this for us… You actually are a better person, better mom, when you invest that time in yourself.”
This April, when Gen and the ladies push off from Catalina, they won’t just be paddling toward Newport Beach. They’ll be paddling toward proof that strength grows in community, that service fuels purpose, and that together, impossible distances become possible.
