Bob Hindmarch

Robert George Hindmarch (May 27, 1930 – February 20, 2021) was a Canadian educator, sports administrator and ice hockey coach. He was a multi-sport athlete at the University of British Columbia (UBC) as a student, and returned as a professor and its director of physical education. He and Father David Bauer established a permanent Canada men's national ice hockey team based at UBC in preparation for ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics. Hindmarch later coached the UBC Thunderbirds men's ice hockey team for 214 wins in 12 seasons; they became one of the first Western Bloc sports teams to play a tour of games in China. He developed additional international sporting relationships for the Thunderbirds in South Korea and Japan, and served as vice-president of the Canadian Olympic Association for 16 years. Hindmarch was made a member of the Order of Canada and the Order of British Columbia; and is inducted into the Canadian Olympic Hall of Fame and the BC Sports Hall of Fame.

Early life and education Robert George Hindmarch was born on May 27, 1930, in Nanaimo, the son of a coal miner. Hindmarch participated in numerous sports as a youth including baseball, hockey, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and track and field. During his senior season in 1953, he was co-captain of both the football and baseball teams. He coached football at the Duke of Connaught High School in New Westminster during 1954, then was an assistant coach to Frank Gnup on the UBC Thunderbirds football team in 1955.

UBC professional career alt=Black and white photo of Bauer in 1944 dressed in a St. Michael's Majors hockey uniform

Hindmarch became as assistant professor of physical education at UBC in 1961, then became a full-time professor in 1974. He supported Father David Bauer when he established a permanent Canada men's national ice hockey team based at the Point Grey Campus of UBC. Hindmarch served as general manager and assistant coach of the team which placed fourth in ice hockey at the 1964 Winter Olympics.

Hindmarch began coaching the UBC Thunderbirds men's ice hockey team during the 1964–65 season, and led the team to the 1971 Western Canadian Intercollegiate Athletic Association championship. He accumulated a winning record in 11 of 12 seasons, and set UBC record with 214 wins by a coach in ice hockey. The trip was supported by the Government of Canada as part of a desire to normalize relations with China, and was not well-publicized at the time. Hindmarch and the Thunderbirds conducted practices attended by the Chinese, and won all seven games played by a combined score of 56 to 5.

Hindmarch served as the UBC athletic director from 1980 to 1992, assisted in coaching the UBC basketball and baseball teams, and oversaw all Thunderbird teams and campus intramural programs.

Other sporting interests

Hindmarch served as a director of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and helped make hockey helmets mandatory for minor ice hockey players. and was an ambassador for Vancouver's 2010 Winter Olympics bid committee. Hindmarch died at age 90 on February 20, 2021. He was inducted into the inaugural class of the UBC Sports Hall of Fame in 1993, and was made the namesake of a scholarship for student athlete leadership at UBC. He was inducted into the builder category of the BC Hockey Hall of Fame in 2012.

Hindmarch was inducted into the Canada West Hall of Fame as an ice hockey coach in 2019. He was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2019, "for his contributions to sports as an athlete, coach and educator in his province and beyond". After being awarded the Order of Canada, Hindmarch met with UBC alumni and wanted them to wear their school sweaters. Kevin Hanson felt that Hindmarch "was more concerned about people representing UBC that night and the traditions then anything else", and that "he want[ed] us to make sure that we feel like we're a part of it".