Charlotte swimmers try to cool pool with 600 pounds of ice

The heat wave has warmed outdoor pool water to nearly 90 degrees – almost unbearable for competitive swimmers toiling through a workout.

So members of the the Mecklenburg Swim Association Masters team made a valiant, if ultimately futile, effort on Wednesday to cool the pool at the Blakeney Racquet and Swim Club near Ballantyne.

At 5:15 a.m., Coach Patty Waldron made a a video of the team dumping 600 pounds of ice into the water.

“That’s gonna fix our little problem,” Waldron quipped.

The ice melted in 30 seconds, which one swimmer with a scientific background calculated had the potential to cool the pool by a whopping .20 degrees.

Now, it’s a comfortable 88.

This story was originally published June 24, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Charlotte swimmers try to cool pool with 600 pounds of ice."