hosted the World Championships. The Bauer family had a history of international competition. Ray Bauer represented Canada at the 1949 Ice Hockey World Championships as a member of the Sudbury Wolves, and Bobby Bauer coached the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen at the 1956 Winter Olympics and the 1960 Winter Olympics. The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) annually chose an amateur senior team to represent the country at international competitions, which was usually the reigning Allan Cup champion team since it met the amateur eligibility requirements for the ice hockey at the Olympic Games and the Ice Hockey World Championships. When the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen represented Canada, Ray Bauer funded expenses for the team through the family business, since the Government of Canada declined to provide funding and the CAHA did not cover all of the travel expenses. The Bauers felt it was unfair for one city to pay most of the expenses to send a team to represent the whole country. Bauer spoke with American coaches during the World Championships, and learned of their detailed preparation plans for the 1964 Winter Olympics, whereas Canada did not yet know which team would represent the country. Bauer suggested it might be time for Canadian universities and colleges to represent the country since they met amateur eligibility requirements, and he felt there were young men who would be interested in a program which combined education and hockey. He felt that a core group of students could be reinforced with the best available Canadian senior players for international competition. He discussed the concept with CAHA president Jack Roxburgh and secretary Gordon Juckes who were also in attendance at the World Championships, and was invited make a presentation at the next CAHA annual meeting in May 1962. Bauer's proposal was unanimously endorsed in principle at the general meeting, then given final approval at the CAHA executive meeting in August 1962, with partial funding provided towards board and tuition. The Canadian Olympic Association gave its approval to the proposal in October 1962. The proposal was opposed by professional leagues including the NHL who would be competing for the same players. University of Alberta physical education director Maury Van Vliet, criticized the idea in a letter to the newspapers, and felt that the CAHA was letting Bauer assemble an all-star team at "a university that does not own a rink, located in an area that has never produced a hockey