In 1979, the first statewide competition was held, and just over two years later, the newly formed United States Academic Decathlon Association held the first national competition in April 1982 at Loyola Marymount University in California—200 high schools from 16 states and the District of Columbia competed for the chance to attend. Peterson, inspired by the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, hoped to make Academic Decathlon an international event. At the 1984 Nationals, 32 states as well as Canada, Mexico, New Zealand and South Korea fielded teams. The inclusion of foreign countries did not become a regular occurrence, however. There was no more international participation until 1989, when teams from Northern Ireland and Rio de Janeiro competed. Since then, only a handful of international schools have competed.