Repechage (English pronunciation: /rɛpɨˈʃɑːʒ/; French: repêchage, "re-fishing") is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.
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Different types of repechage can occur. As a basis for the examples set forth below, assume that 64 competitors are divided into four pools (16 competitors/pool). The four pools are labeled A, B, C, and D. The first three rounds of this primary championship bracket winnow the primary field down to eight competitors for entry into the championship quarter-final.
In full repechage, a competitor who loses to the pool winner drops into the repechage bracket. The theory is that a worthy competitor, who is paired with another worthy competitor, should not be unduly penalized by luck of the draw, but have an opportunity to at least fight for third place. In our example, four competitors from each pool (the loser to the pool winner in the first, second, third and quarter-final rounds) drop into the repechage bracket. A larger pool results in a longer wait for first round losers to determine if they will compete in repechage.
Unlike full repechage, quarter-final repechage only pulls losers from the quarter-final round. The prior rounds are single elimination. Losers in the quarter-final from two pools (e.g., A and B) are entered into one bracket of the repechage first round. Quarter-final losers from the other two pools are entered into the other bracket. Repechage losers are placed in seventh place. Winners of these matches play against semifinal losers of opposite bracket. Losers are placed in fifth place and winners are awarded with bronze medal each.
In double elimination repechage, any loser in the championship bracket drops into the repechage bracket. Typically the losers from the championship bracket's first round compete against each other in the repechage first round for the right to compete in the repechage second round (against the championship bracket second round losers). In full double elimination repechage, the eventual repechage bracket winner competes against the championship bracket winner to determine the winner of the overall competition, but the repechage bracket winner must win 2 matches to win the competition whereas the championship bracket winner needs only win one match. In a partial double elimination repechage bracket, the bracket winner (or winners in dual third place scenario) will take third place.
Dual third place finishers can result with full, quarter-final, or double elimination repechage. Losers from two championship bracket pools (e.g., A and B) are placed into one repechage bracket and losers from the other two pools are placed in the other repechage bracket. The winner from each pool's repechage bracket compete against the loser in the championship semi-final that comes from one of that repechage bracket's two pools. Or, in a "cross-over" arrangement, the semi-final loser comes from the other bracket's pools. Each winner of this repechage round takes third place. The losers of the prior two repechage rounds are often considered to take fifth and seventh places.
A consolation bracket is a bracket in which losers drop from the primary championship bracket and compete for third place or a lesser consolation prize. Hence, except in the case of full double elimination repechage, a repechage bracket might be referred to as a consolation bracket.
In track athletics, automatic qualification for the next round is given to the best competitors in each heat. Other competitors with the best times may also qualify for the next round indirectly as "fastest losers" as a result of the repechage. If a particular heat was significantly faster than the others, the repechage spots can be all taken by athletes from that heat.
In field athletics, automatic qualification for the next round depends on meeting or surpassing a specified minimum result. The remaining qualification spots (if any) are given in order to the best results.
In karate, judo,[1] taekwondo, and wrestling tournaments, single elimination brackets are used to determine the two athletes who will compete in the final match for first and second place. The repechage bracket is built by selecting all of the athletes who were knocked out by the finalists and building brackets to determine third place. Repechage addresses the possibility of two top competitors meeting in an early round, allowing the loser a chance to compete for a bronze medal. Repechage was formerly widely used in fencing tournaments, but the majority have now abandoned it— - an exception being United States Fencing Association Division I tournaments.
In rugby football, the qualification processes for the Rugby Union World Cup and Rugby League World Cup use a repechage system. The Air New Zealand Cup, New Zealand's domestic professional competition in union, used the repechage in 2006, but scrapped it for 2007.
It is also used in rowing.[2] Often only the first one or two boats in a race will qualify automatically for the next round, and all of the other boats must race again in one or more special heats (known as the repechage) to qualify. Because conditions such as wind vary between the heats, often significantly affecting a competitor's time, rowing's repechage system allows the "fastest losers" to qualify independent of the variable conditions in the opening heats.
A repechage heat is also used occasionally in the Cycling sport of Keirin. These heats give a second chance for non-qualifiers in the initial heat to advance to the next round of competition.
A repechage stage is sometimes used in match racing competition to allow teams finishing the round robin(s) just below the top level teams, a chance to advance to the quarter final stage. This is standard competition for the Olympic classes events, such as the ISAF Sailing World Cup.
At many levels of amateur play, including the National Collegiate Athletic Association, tournaments are established as a full double elimination repechage.
In the current 64-team baseball and softball NCAA tournament formats, there are alternating 4-team double elimination repechage formats, and best two-of-three games series. The first and third rounds are full double elimination repechages, while the second and fourth rounds are best two-of-three game series.
In the Southeastern Conference, the baseball tournament has a flip-bracket format; the winner of the first championship bracket plays the winner of the second repechage bracket, and the winner of the second championship bracket plays the winner of the first repechage bracket. As usual, the repechage bracket winner must win two matches to advance to the championship game.
Alternatives to repechage include pure single-elimination, round-robin, and Swiss-system.