Four Manitobans were part of the Canadian delegation attending the 2017 Ford World Women's Championship in Beijing, China last week. They were Chief Umpire Dave Petursson, Deputy Chief Ice Technician Greg Ewasko, Chief Ice Technician Hans Wuthrich and Curling Canada Vice Chair Resby Coutts. It was an exciting time for the Canadian group for a lot of reasons, including the fact Rachel Homan won the Women's gold for Team Canada for the first time since 2008 when Manitoba's Jennifer Jones was champion.

We caught up with Resby Coutts following his return to Manitoba. He said the fan experience in Beijing was great to be a part of, noting the championship took place in a 1950's-era hockey arena that was built by the Russians.

"It's been modernized, it's been used many times, most recently for curling. It was used for the World Mens, I believe, four years ago - perhaps it was five years ago."

In fact, Coutts says the facility might look familiar to some, noting it was used for volleyball during the 2008 summer games in Beijing.

He adds the arena had a seating capacity of about 14,000 but says there were only about 6,000 at its fullest.

The World Curling Federation also held meetings in conjunction with the Women's Championship, and discussed potential format changes for future World Championships. "I liken it in many ways to the conversation that happens in Manitoba."

And with the increasing number of countries adopting the sport of curling, Coutts says qualifying for the Worlds was also big topic of discussion at the meetings.