This story has been updated. 

Avondale Estates, GA — The Moricle family of Avondale Estates has been working to break the Guinness world record for the world’s largest sticker ball for four years. During a weighing ceremony at the Avondale Estates City Commission meeting on Sept. 28, the sticker ball weighed in at 624.6 pounds and is 8 feet and half an inch in circumference.

Over 200,000 stickers have been stuck to the ball. Wade Moricle, Sofie’s father, said during the city commission meeting that the ball is over one foot larger than the current world record holder.

“I was shocked. I didn’t think we were going to break 600 pounds,” Wade said.

During the meeting, Wade and his friend, Brian Higgins, rolled the ball up a small wooden ramp to rest it on top of a scale. Mayor Jonathan Elmore served as the surveyor who certified the weighing apparatus used to weigh the sticker ball.

The family also invited the city commissioners, city staff, and the audience to add stickers to the ball as well.

Sofie Moricle got the idea from the Guinness Book of World Records that she bought at a book fair in fifth grade. She started the project with heart stickers she rolled into a small ball in 2018.

“I am impressed,” Sofie said. “I did not think we would be able to do this. It shocked me that I was able to get it this far.”

She added that at the time, the sticker ball looked easy to do to get stickers and form them into a ball.

“It’s been fun because during quarantine you didn’t really have anything to do at home, so this really took up my time, and it was fun to do because I was bored most of the time being stuck in the house,” Sofie said.

StickerGiant set the original record at 231 pounds in 2016 to celebrate national sticker day. StickyBrand broke that record in 2020 with a 308-pound sticker ball.

Over the past few years, the Moricles have partnered with Signarama to “funcycle” their stickers. Former owner John Conley agreed to provide stickers, since the city of Decatur didn’t pick up their stickers as waste because the adhesive gums up the garbage trucks. Current owner Danya King also agreed to provide stickers for the project when Conley retired.

Wade said that the family’s partnership with Signarama made the project possible.

The sticker ball has also taken on several themes with various layers of stickers, such as Christmas, Easter, Valentine’s Day, Fourth of July, St. Patrick’s Day, Halloween, Star Wars, a giant eyeball, a Magic 8-Ball, and a celebration of graduation from seventh grade.

“Making a theme for each holiday was so much fun,” Sofie said.

She added that her favorite themes were Star Wars and the Magic 8-ball.

The various periods of quarantine during the COVID-19 pandemic kept the family secluded in their home for about a year, but the sticker ball gave them something fun to work on.

The sticker ball was also a therapeutic activity for Wade when he went through cancer treatment in 2021. He was diagnosed with stage three colon cancer in January 2021.

“Really and truly, the sticker ball was very relaxing. It was something that was kind of mindless, and you would just sit there, and you would peel stickers. Oddly enough, I’ve become very adept at peeling stickers and putting them on the ball without getting the little creases in them,” Wade previously said. “When you combine COVID plus cancer, you end up with a 600-pound sticker ball.”

Wade, Sofie and Julie Moricle will submit for the record digitally. Due to COVID-19, the Guinness World Record Company did not send a representative to see the record attempt.

“They are having us do the work ourselves,” Wade said. “We will submit this record, and it might be as long as a month, but they will let us know.”

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