Douglas was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated at Scotch College where he was introduced to rowing.

He first made state selection for Victoria in the 1967 men's eight which contested the King's Cup at the annual Interstate Regatta.

[6] In 1968 Douglas was the sole Victorian added to the New South Wales crew which made up the Australian men's eight for the Mexico Olympics.

[8] After competitive retirement Douglas was Chairman of selectors at Mercantile Rowing Club for a number of years.

She competed at six world championships and at the Atlanta 1996 in the women's eight and at Sydney 2000 as a single sculler.