Competing for a Date and a Gold Medal
Student Council will reward girls who creatively ask dates to winter formal
Photo courtesy of Phoebe Potiker
Carter Lamb shows off her Olympic ask of Carter Perry to the Winter Formal on an Instagram post. She hashtagged AskingOlympics to enter the competition.
“I sent him on a wild goose chase,” said sophomore Margi Weiss, describing how she asked Max Markey to winter formal.
“I had, I think, seven locations, so I dropped people off at each one, and at the final destination I was waiting for him with a cupcake.”
Creative proposals are typical at Shaker in recent years. This year however, there is a fun twist. Corresponding with the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, the dance will have an Olympic theme, and the competition is taking the form of an asking contest.
“People are already going to ask their dates in a creative way, so we thought we might as well reward people for their efforts,” said Student Body President Conor Matthews.
To enter the contest, students can post a picture to Twitter or Instagram with the hashtag AskingOlympics, or email a photograph or video directly to Amanda Ahrens, Student Council adviser.
The contest deadline is Feb. 26, and the winners will be announced Feb. 27. The winning entries will earn olympics-style awards; a gold medal and six free formal tickets; a silver medal and four tickets; and a bronze medal and two tickets.
This is the first year that there has been a competition corresponding with a school dance.
“I think it is hard to get the whole school’s attention,” said Ahrens. “Especially when it is for something as big as winter formal.”
Student Council created the Asking Olympics to generate excitement for the dance, according to Matthews.
“I think it’s a fun [way to ask]. It brings out everyone’s creative side instead of just asking,” junior Carter Lamb said. Lamb asked Carter Parry to the Winter formal with a display of McDonald’s chicken nuggets in the cafeteria.
Markey said that the Asking Olympics are a “good way to get people motivated to ask in creative ways.”
Because many girls are uncomfortable asking guys to the dance, Weiss agrees that the competition encouraged them.
Traditionally, the homecoming dance attracts more people than the winter formal. Ahrens said that winter formal attracts around 300-400 people, while homecoming typically sees more than 1,000. By creating a larger buzz around the dance, Student Council hopes to attract a larger crowd.
“Asking Olympics gets people talking about the dance,” Matthews said. “Any public hype is good for an event like the winter formal.”
