United States Academic Decathlon United States Academic Decathlon The Academic Decathlon (also called AcaDec, AcaDeca or AcDec) is the only annual high school academic competition organized by the non-profit United States Academic Decathlon Association (USAD). The competition consists of seven multiple choice tests, two performance events, and an essay. Academic Decathlon was created by Robert Peterson in 1968 for local schools in Orange County, California and expanded nationwide in 1981 by Robert Peterson, William Patton, first President of the new USAD Board and Phillip Bardos, Chairman of the new USAD Board. That year, 17 states and the District of Columbia participated, a number that
Decathlon Group Decathlon Group Decathlon S.A. () is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 1400 stores in 45 countries, it is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world. Decathlon started with a store in Lille, France in 1976, founded by Michel Leclercq. It started to expand abroad a decade later, to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992, Italy in 1998, Portugal, the United Kingdom in 1999, China in 2003, India in 2009, Hong Kong in 2013, Malaysia in 2016 and Southeast Asia in 2012 and South Africa, Philippines in 2017 and Australia in 2018. The company employs more than 82,000