‖ repêchage Sport (orig. Rowing).
(rɛpəʃɑːʒ, ‖ rəpɛʃaʒ)
Also repechage.
[a. F. repêchage, f. repêcher to fish out, rescue; to give an examination candidate a second chance to pass.]
An extra contest in which the runners-up in the eliminating contests compete for a place in the final. Also attrib.
| 1928 Daily Express 7 Aug. 12 M. Bernasconi, their representative in the single sculls, met Joe Wright..in the repechage—second chance—contests for Saturday's second-round losers. 1948 Call-Bulletin (San Francisco) 3 July 5/7 Harvard, upset by Cornell in the first trial heat, got back into the running by the ‘repechage’ or second-trial system. 1955 Times 25 Aug. 2/7 On Friday there will be repechages for teams beaten in the opening heats. 1959 Times 20 Apr. 3/1 Those teams knocked out in the first round took part in a repêchage. 1976 Yachts & Yachting 20 Aug. 375/3 The following day there is a repechage in the same waters. 1978 Times 30 June 21/6 The Poles won by virtue of the ‘repêchage’ principle, which provides for one of the 61 defeated teams to reenter the competition by beating the other defeated teams. |