This document discusses robotic competitions and their importance. It provides details about several international robotic challenges organized by DARPA and defense organizations in the US and other countries. It also summarizes two European robotic challenges - the European Land Robot Trials (ELROB) for military and civil applications, and the European Robotics Athlon (EURATHLON) funded by the EU to test outdoor robots in disaster response scenarios. The document emphasizes that competitions should have clear rules and reward teams, involve users and industry, and work towards standardization to help guide research and development of practical autonomous robots.