Kiwi physio joins Oracle team

By JULIE ASH

Prominent New Zealand physiotherapist David Abercrombie has joined BMW Oracle Racing for the next America's Cup.

Abercrombie, who has worked with the All Blacks, Auckland and North Harbour rugby teams, will travel between Auckland and Valencia for the next three years before moving permanently in 2007.

Abercrombie had been part of Team New Zealand's last three campaigns, but decided to take up an offer from Chris Dickson's Oracle syndicate after he was not wanted by Emirates Team New Zealand boss Grant Dalton.

"Team New Zealand and I couldn't work anything out," Abercrombie said.

"They didn't want to run with me, so I felt I could move with someone else. Had Dalton wanted me to work with them I would have stayed.

"I had done three campaigns with Team New Zealand and financially it hadn't been that effective, whereas now I have got an opportunity to make a reasonable living out of it.

"I also see it as an opportunity for my kids to experience a different part of the world."

Abercrombie said his position with Oracle was basically that of a medical director. "You deal with everything. You rock up to the base ... and someone comes in with a boil or the flu or something, and if you are only a few days out from a regatta you've got to react quickly and get these things sorted out.

"I have set up a support service team of orthopaedic surgeons and doctors, and people like that, to cope with all our needs. I will co-ordinate all of that, plus I will help out with their strength and fitness training. It is a new challenge to take over some of those roles."

Abercrombie will join Oracle in Valencia in October for the second and third pre-cup regattas. Before that he will be in Athens as physiotherapist to the Olympic yachting team.