Understanding recursion is essential in competitive programming because it simplifies solving problems that involve repeated subproblems or hierarchical structures. Recursion is a natural fit for tasks like tree traversal, where each node leads to recursive calls for its child nodes. It is also a powerful technique for backtracking, allowing you to explore potential solutions in tasks like combinatorial problems or pathfinding. In dynamic programming, recursion enables the breakdown of a complex problem into overlapping subproblems, which are then solved and stored to avoid redundant calculations. Learning recursion builds a foundational understanding of problem decomposition, helping programmers create solutions that are both concise and efficient. However, effective recursion also requires knowledge of base cases to avoid infinite loops and awareness of stack memory usage to prevent stack overflow in large inputs. By mastering recursion, competitive programmers gain a versatile tool for tackling a wide array of complex problems.