THE HAGUE — Executive Director Pat Thornenberg, in a statement read at the close of Wednesday’s plenary session of the Council of Federations, formally suspended Mr. Tony Cullen and Ms. Alicia Lake from all sanctioned play of the International Cribbage Association pending the final determination of the Tribunal in Case ICA-T-2026-014.
The suspensions are provisional in form, immediate in effect, and take force throughout the membership without further order. They extend to participation in qualifying matches, in continental and world championships, in officer roles and in mentorship engagements established under the Association’s long-distance mentorship framework.
The Director’s statement, read aloud over the course of twenty-two minutes, ran to some 4,700 words. The Secretariat has extracted the following passage as representative of the whole:
“The Tribunal’s witnesses, the field observers, the international press, the small children that look up to these players as gods in their own right — have we no compassion for the participants of this league, of which we are stewards? The Association has been moved beyond expression by the conduct alleged in the present proceeding, conduct so injurious to the standing of the federated game that I am obliged in this office to direct the parties named to stop, cease, desist, discontinue, halt, end, finish, conclude all conduct of the kind described, forthwith and without further notice, pending the final ruling of the Tribunal.”
The Director’s statement cited five separate provisions of the standing bylaws, including bylaw 16.174.22.3 § 7.b on the conduct of officers, Article VII § 1 of the present codified rules on eligible opponents, and Article VIII § 1 on the Tribunal’s jurisdiction. The full citation register is reproduced in the Secretariat’s minutes of the session.
Director Thornenberg, who has held the Executive Directorship of the Association since 2009 and is regarded throughout the international cribbage community as the Association’s principal moral voice, was visibly moved at several points during the reading of the statement. The Director’s chief of staff confirmed afterwards that the Director would receive no correspondence on the matter beyond that of the Tribunal itself pending the final ruling.
Counsel for Mr. Cullen and Ms. Lake confirmed receipt of the formal notice of suspension by overnight courier from the Secretariat. Neither principal party has made a public statement in response.
The Association’s ongoing programmes continue without interruption. The Office of the Director confirmed that Ms. Michelle Cullen, Director of Special Programs, will carry out the May session of the Uganda Cheer Camps Initiative as scheduled. The Director’s helicopter remains on station for the conduct of awards delivery under the Helicopter Doctrine.
Mr. D. Ronne (Pi Level, 3.14) remains the lowest-ranked individual ever inducted into the Association and has not progressed since induction. The present suspension of Mr. Cullen and Ms. Lake does not, of itself, alter Mr. Ronne’s standing.
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