As Winter Formal approaches, countless pictures of askings to winter ball are clogging up students’ Facebook newsfeeds. Past askings have involved everything from the traditional poster and flowers to choreographing a videotaped dance. Students are gearing up to win the school-wide best asking competition annually hosted by the ASB. The couple with the most creative asking receives free tickets to the dance.

This year, ASB officers are changing the rules of submission: Participants must submit a photo or video of their asking using the hashtag #shsformal14 on Facebook or Instagram, instead of posting it onto the “Saratoga High ASB” Facebook page, as participants did in previous years.

“[We decided to use a hashtag] since competitions in the past weren’t as popular as we’d hope,” said senior Adrienne Kim, president of the ASB. “It was probably because people didn’t want to publicize their askings themselves. The hashtag lets friends to submit their askings, not just the couple themselves.”

Kim hopes promoting the competition on the Facebook event page, which more than 800 students are invited to, and on the announcements, will result in more creative askings, spreading awareness for the dance and increasing participation.

During one of the many innovative Formal proposals this season, senior Jane Park’s friends drove her around Saratoga, dressed in onesie pajamas. They eventually dropped her off in the school parking lot where senior Samuel Breck, dressed in a Santa Claus onesie, presented her with a poster saying “You’re the only one-i-sie, formal with me?” A picture of them was posted on Facebook, tagged with the hashtag, shortly after.

“Seeing all my close friends participating in the asking made it a really nice surprise,” Park said. “I thought the onesie theme was creative and really out-there.”

Like many other students, Breck’s idea for his asking was influenced by the competition.

“It was a fun asking,” Breck said. “I think it’s good there is a competition for free tickets because then there is an extra incentive for people come up with creative askings and go to Formal as well.”