CFL Grey Cup champions Montreal Alouettes and their SkyCoach sideline replay journey
The Montreal Alouettes using SkyCoach during a game.
When the clock hit zero at the end of the 110th Grey Cup, the confetti fell on the Montreal Alouettes for the first time in more than a decade.
The Alouettes beat the Winnipeg Blue Bombers 28-24 in the 2023 Canadian Football League championship game at Tim Hortons Field in Hamilton with a touchdown in the last minute to lift them to their first title since 2010. Montreal now has eight CFL championship wins.
Since 2016, SkyCoach has been the exclusive in-game sideline replay provider for the CFL’s nine teams. In fact, SkyCoach representatives went to at least one game for all nine teams that year to prove our replay solution worked in each of the unique stadiums during preseason games. It did, and SkyCoach has since been used in every preseason, regular season and postseason games, including Grey Cups.
Prior to capturing the championship in 2023, the Alouettes began having an issue in 2022 with their iPad's on the home sideline bench. Montreal’s home field, Percival Molson Memorial Stadium, is situated in Downtown Montreal on the slopes of Mount Royal on the campus of McGill University, and also attached to a neurological hospital.
Montreal using SkyCoach on the sideline during a game.
With all of that being said, the proximity to the hospital on the home sideline was the issue. SkyCoach upgraded Montreal’s antennas to overcome the issue, which resolved the problem, and now those upgraded antennas are standard on all of our packages.
When Montreal’s Head Video Coordinator, Rico Morotti, who started selling tickets for the Alouettes in 1997, reached out to SkyCoach, the problem was immediately resolved as the Alouettes went on to hoist the trophy the following year.
“We’re on top of the mountain so there’s a lot of interference with an antenna for the city and the hospital,” Morotti said. “So, SkyCoach changed the sideline antenna to a stronger one and hooked up directly to the network and no problems since. It works very well. It’s a great product, but the best thing about SkyCoach is the customer service. Whenever we call, SkyCoach always answers. They’ll find a solution and helps us right away.”
Across the CFL, each team is allowed up to eight iPads. Montreal uses five on their sideline for coaches and players, Morotti said. The home team sets up sideline replay for both teams while the visiting team just has to bring their iPads for viewing to away games.
Morotti added: “SkyCoach is instant feedback. It is instant feedback for the coaches to make adjustments and instant feedback for the players as they get it right away after the play. The video doesn't lie.”
During the Covid years, teams were limited to the amount of people allowed in each coaches box, meaning some staffers had to remain on the sideline. Because of SkyCoach’s flexibility, some of the teams used an iPad on the sideline to control the start and stop of each play.
The largest confirmed crowd SkyCoach has effortlessly worked in was Grey Cup 106 in Edmonton with a crowd of nearly 56,000 people. The 2024 CFL season will start with the Grey Cup rematch as the Alouettes champs go on the road to visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on June 6.
Montreal raising the Grey Cup trophy after winning it in 2023.
