ARIZONA ACADEMIC DECATHLON

What ARIZONA ACADEMIC DECATHLON does

Arizona Academic Decathlon (AADA) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1985 that operates the Arizona chapter of the United States Academic Decathlon, a ten-event scholastic competition for high school students. The organization runs a multi-tier tournament structure consisting of four regional competitions — held in St. Johns, Phoenix, Tucson, and Chandler — a state competition, and advancement of top teams to the USAD national championship. AADA engages approximately 60 Arizona high school teams annually and mobilizes roughly 200 volunteers per competition.

The business model is a hybrid of team participation fees and philanthropic support. Team fees are $600 per team for regional competitions and $400 per full team plus $75 per individual for the state competition. Corporate and foundation contributions flow through a tiered sponsorship program: Gold ($10K+), Silver ($5K+), and Bronze ($1K+), with named partners including Helios Education Foundation, State Farm, Intel, SRP, and Bank of America. University scholarship pathways are provided through partnerships with Arizona State University, University of Arizona, and Northern Arizona University. Annual programming includes a Coaches' Clinic and a volunteer training program; the 2026 state competition is scheduled at Mountain View High School in Mesa.

Operationally, AADA is a small nonprofit with 1–10 employees under board governance (President Casey Thomas, Vice President Sisley Tiernan) with Sarah Morris serving as Executive Director. The technology footprint is minimal: a WordPress-based public website supplemented by Calendly for scheduling and Google Analytics for traffic measurement. There are no proprietary digital products, no mobile applications, and no data platform underlying the competition workflow.

Name

ARIZONA ACADEMIC DECATHLON

Legal name

Arizona Academic Decathlon Association, Inc.

Website

https://azacadec.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Arizona Academic Decathlon is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1985 that runs Arizona's chapter of the United States Academic Decathlon, organizing ten-event scholastic competitions for approximately 60 high school teams across four regional sites and a state championship.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Competition Services

NAICS

Other Schools and Instruction (6116), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Academic Decathlon & Interdisciplinary Competitions (EDAMAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Competitive Activities (Debate, Mock Trial, Academic Team, Robotics) (EDAJAJAD)

Keywords

• Academic competition program
• Scholastic decathlon events
• High school competitions
• Educational enrichment programs
• Interdisciplinary academic contests

Headquarters

HQ city

Phoenix

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Team Participation Fees: Schools pay registration fees to participate in regional and state competitions. Full team registration at regionals costs $600; partial teams/alternates are charged $75 per decathlete. State competition full team registration is $400; individuals pay $75 each.
2. Corporate and Individual Donations: The organization is funded entirely by corporate, foundation, and personal donations. Sponsorship tiers include Gold ($10,000+), Silver ($5,000+), Bronze ($1,000+), and in-kind contributions.
3. Tax-Exempt Charitable Organization: Arizona Academic Decathlon is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization (Federal Tax ID: 86-0508608) that does not receive government funding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arizona Academic Decathlon Association (AADA) administers a tiered, ten-event scholastic competition program for Arizona high school students, with local scrimmages (October–December), four regional competitions (late January/early February), a state competition (March), and advancement to the USAD National Competition (April/May). Each school registers a team of nine decathletes in three GPA categories (Honor, Scholastic, Varsity) competing across art, economics, essay, interview, language & literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, and speech. The organization also delivers a Coaches' Clinic, a Volunteer Program, and a Scholarships and Awards Program in partnership with ASU, University of Arizona, and NAU.

Product overview

The Arizona Academic Decathlon is a single unified program that organizes ten-event scholastic competitions for high school students. The program operates through a tiered competition structure: local scrimmages for practice, four regional competitions across Arizona, a state competition in March, and advancement to the USAD National Competition. The organization supports participating schools through Coach resources including annual training clinics, provides volunteer opportunities for competition operations, and administers a scholarships and awards program in partnership with Arizona's major universities (ASU, University of Arizona, NAU). The core offering is the structured academic decathlon competition itself, not a software product or platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Academic Decathlon Competition Program A ten-event scholastic competition for high school students covering art, economics, essay, interview, language & literature, mathematics, music, science, social science, and speech. Each school enters a team of nine decathletes divided across Honor, Scholastic, and Varsity GPA categories.
• Regional Competitions Four regional competitions held across Arizona in late January or early February where approximately 50+ teams compete using USAD Round 2 tests at sites in St. Johns (Region I), Thunderbird/Phoenix (Region II), Desert View/Tucson (Region III), and Arizona College Prep/Chandler (Region IV). Full team registration costs $600; partial teams and alternates pay $75 per decathlete.
• State Competition The Arizona State Competition held in early March where top-scoring teams from regional competitions advance to compete using USAD Round 3 tests. Full team registration is $400; individual decathletes from non-advancing schools pay $75. Individual and team awards are distributed across the 41st annual competition (held 2026) with 25 high schools and 90 individuals competing.
• USAD National Competition Participation The highest-scoring team at the Arizona State Competition travels to the United States Academic Decathlon (USAD) National Competition, typically held in late April. Arizona also sends teams to compete in the USAD Online Competition.
• Scholarships and Awards Program Cash prizes and post-secondary scholarships awarded to top-scoring decathletes and members of winning teams. Major Arizona universities offer renewable scholarships: Arizona State University ($2,000 renewable for 3 years, $8,000 total), University of Arizona (up to $2,000 renewable for 4 years), and Northern Arizona University ($1,750 renewable for 4 years).
• Coaches' Clinic Annual training event held in early September at Glendale Community College providing high school coaches with training in new content and coaching techniques, including breakout sessions covering subject areas with content experts.
• Volunteer Program Structured volunteer program requiring approximately 200 volunteers per competition with roles including essay judges (asynchronous online), interview judges, speech judges/timers, test proctors, Super Quiz proctors, and runners. Virtual training is provided via videos, handouts, and online completion recording.
• Scrimmages Local scrimmages and invitational events held throughout Arizona from mid-October to early December, providing decathletes opportunities to practice and hone their skills in competition settings ahead of regional competitions.

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered moderate, core and minor.

• Arizona School Boards AssociationmoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerSilver-level sponsor ($5,000+) supporting academic competition in Arizona schools.
• USAD (United States Academic Decathlon)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBronze sponsor and national organization partner providing curriculum, tests, and national competition framework that AADA participates in.
• Arizona State UniversitymoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-kind supporter providing venue hosting (historical) and scholarship opportunities for decathletes including $2,000 renewable scholarships for winning team members.
• Mansperger, Patterson & McMullin PLCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn-kind contributor providing professional services support.
• University of ArizonamoderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner offering tuition scholarships (up to $2,000 renewable for 4 years) for first place regional team members and top-scoring students.
• Northern Arizona University (NAU)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner offering $1,750 scholarships (renewable for 4 years) for winning regional team members and top-scoring students.
• Arizona State University (ASU)moderateStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity partner offering $2,000 renewable scholarships (3 years, $8,000 total) for first place regional teams and participation scholarships for students with 2+ years experience.
• Glendale Community CollegeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost venue for annual Coaches' Clinic event providing training space.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Emerging players

• Science Olympiad: National nonprofit running STEM-focused team competitions for K-12 students at regional, state, and national tournaments. Competes with AADA for coach time, school budgets, and student participation in the academic competition space.
• MATHCOUNTS: National middle-school math competition program with local, state, and national chapters. Comparable nonprofit structure and tiered competition model targeting gifted and enrichment-oriented students.
• DECA (Distributive Education Clubs of America): National career and technical student organization running competitive events for high school students across business, entrepreneurship, and marketing. Comparable in operating tiered school-to-state-to-national competitions with scholarship pathways.
• National Speech & Debate Association (NSDA): National organization running competitive speech and debate tournaments at local, district, and national levels. Comparable in serving high school students through tiered competition, coach networks, and scholarship opportunities.
• NAQT (National Academic Quiz Tournaments): National organization running academic quiz bowl competitions for high school and college students. Comparable in offering school-based team competitions with state and national qualifying pathways.
• National History Bee and Bowl: National history-focused quiz competition for individual students and school teams with regional, state, and national championships. Comparable in tiered competition structure targeting academically engaged high school students.
• Destination Imagination: Nonprofit running project-based STEM and creative problem-solving competitions for K-12 students with affiliate tournaments leading to a global finals. Comparable nonprofit model with school-team, regional-state-national structure.

Direct peers

• California Academic Decathlon: State chapter of Academic Decathlon in California, the originating state of the program. Operates the same ten-event competition structure for high school students and serves as the largest USAD state affiliate.
• Texas Academic Decathlon: Texas state chapter of Academic Decathlon, running the same USAD-aligned ten-event format for high school students. Closely comparable in mission, structure, and tiered regional-to-state competition model.

Broad incumbents

• United States Academic Decathlon (USAD): National-level governing body that supplies curriculum, tests, and the national competition framework. AADA acts as an Arizona state chapter within USAD's federation, making USAD the most direct comparable peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ArizonaAcademicDecathlon
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arizona-academic-decathlon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ARIZONA ACADEMIC DECATHLON