Learn Italian: I rappresentanti parlano spesso con i concorrenti? - Do the representatives often speak with the competitors?

Yes! It comes from the verb rappresentare (to represent). To form the present participle, we drop the -are and add -ante, making rappresentante (literally "representing" or "the one who represents"). Here it's used as a noun in the plural form, ending in -anti.

Does concorrenti work the same way? What verb does it come from?

Exactly. It comes from the verb concorrere (to compete or run together). Since it's an -ere verb, we drop the ending and add -ente to get the singular noun concorrente (competitor, or literally "the competing one"). The plural is concorrenti.

If I want to talk about female representatives and competitors, do the words rappresentanti and concorrenti change?

The nouns themselves don't change! Present participles ending in -ante or -ente in the singular (and -anti or -enti in the plural) are the exact same for masculine and feminine. You only change the article to show gender. For an all-female group of competitors, you would just change the article and say le concorrenti.

Why is spesso placed after the verb parlano, when in English we say "often speak"?