10 Things About Douglas Chang & San Diego Crew Classic

“The fight is won or lost far away from the witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road; long before I dance under those lights.”
– Muhammad Ali

The San Diego Crew Classic (SDCC) was formed in 1973 to bring the nation’s top collegiate crews to Mission Bay in the spring for a showdown regatta. The SDCC has grown from a three-hour event to a two-day, nationally acclaimed regatta consisting of over 100 races with more than 4,000 athletes. Douglas Chang was a collegiate and club rower and came to the San Diego Crew Classic as someone who enjoyed being back among rowers and volunteering in that environment. Present day, Douglas serves as the Chief Medical Officer for the San Diego Crew Classic.

#1 I was born in Inglewood; later we lived in Silicon Valley.

#2 I went to Head Start, and grew up in a household with food stamps, government cheese and butter.

#3 Hawaii is my favorite travel destination.

#4 I would love to see wild horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, and manatees in Florida. It is on my bucket list to see the Northern Lights.

#5 Exercising is the best way for me to decompress.

#6 I have a Labrador Retriever. She is a career-change dog from the local San Diego “Paws for Purple Hearts” service dog organization.

#7 Favorite Book: “The Boys in the Boat”.

#8 My grandmother and my grandfather served lunch at a Senior Citizen community center for two decades. This is an activity they shared with me, showing me the value of giving back.

#9 I think there is something fundamentally important about giving back. Over time I have seen that our lives are not so independent, but instead we are inter-dependently linked in a community. I am not even sure how much I am “giving back” to the community compared to what I am “getting out” of the activity.

#10 As a sport, rowing has so many wonderful aspects. Like a golfer, a rower has to act methodically with precise technique repetitively and interact with an ever-changing outdoor environment. Like a middle-distance runner, a rower has to have endurance, speed and power. But like a synchronized swim team, the rowers must blend perfectly with each other in the boat, coordinating their technique, fitness level, mindset, pacing and response to challenges.

San Diego Crew Classic
April 5 – 7, 2024
3699 Crown Point Drive; San Diego
www.crewclassic.org