It just got a whole lot easier to view the schedules for public outdoor skating rinks in Toronto, and we have a local student to thank for it.

Yitzchok Gray is an avid fan of playing shinny at local public rinks in the city, but found himself growing frustrated with trying to find schedules online. That's why he decided to create Go Skate.

"Each rink has specific times for leisure skating and shinny," says Gray, "I live near multiple rinks [so] I'd have to log on to the city's website and find each of the rink schedules I was interested in looking at."

"I wanted to create a simple interface that would allow users to view and compare all rink schedules at once," he says, so that's exactly what he did.

The app factors in data from all of the city's rink schedules and streamlines them into one place. Users can filter for their location and the activity they're interested in, whether it's shinny or open leisure skates.

There is even attention paid to ensuring the app's night mode looks aesthetically pleasing, as Gray anticipates many users will be looking on the app at night, before morning and afternoon skates the next day.

Gray also wanted to make sure that the app was simple and easy to use, knowing that it would be used by a wide range of age groups that he is used to seeing at city rinks.

Being a university student, Gray says he had to use whatever free time he had, including vacation and weekends, to ensure the app would be up and ready for this year's season. 

Suffice it to say, the sacrifice was worth it, and the app is available for download on the Google Play Store.

As for Apple users? Unfortunately, you'll have to bide your time; "the app is currently only available for Android devices," says Gray, but "the iOS version is currently under development."

Gray hopes that his app can help Toronto communities come together and celebrate the winter season, not to mention, "in order to remain the hockey capital of the world we have to have a well-oiled machine!"

GoSkate is now available for download on Apple devices through the App Store