Erskine Academy swimmers Grace Kelso, left, and Nathan Polley dive into the pool to start the 200-yard freestyle during a Feb. 10 virtual meet in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Pools won’t look so empty entering the 2021-2022 season.

After a season in which the pandemic forced teams to compete in virtual meets, swimmers will once again experience live meets this winter.

“As far as I know, we’re going all live (meets),” Gardiner/Hall-Dale head coach Rob Pekins said.

Of course, some COVID-19 safety measures will be in place. Swimmers not competing in events will be masked. Furthermore, spectators could be prohibited from attending meets in some pools across the state. For Cony, each swimmer will be allowed up to four fans for meets, coach Bob Johnston said.

“Things are a little more streamlined this year, and we still have some things in place,” said Waterville/Winslow head coach Justin Giroux, who returns after taking last season off. “Try to prevent the spread (of COVID-19). But so far, so good.”

The Maine Principals’ Association is still allowing schools to compete in virtual meets this season.

“We do have a couple of virtual meets (this season),” Johnston said. “I think (Maine Central Institute) is one, because they struggled to find pool time in Waterville. I believe Kennebunk is another, just because of the distance of travel.”

“It’ll be nice to get back to real competition,” Johnston said. “It was a little odd there last year.”

Erskine Academy swimmers jump into the pool at the Kennebec Valley YMCA to begin a virtual swim meet against Gardiner last Feb. 10. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Giroux added that pool time has been an issue for some teams early in the season.

“We originally had a meet with one team, and they just can’t get any pool time,” Giroux said. “We’re fortunate, we have access to a pool. A lot of our competition is able to host us.”

Many coaches in central Maine are still trying to add depth.

“The energy (of the team) is good, but the numbers are very small,” Johnston said. “We had six or seven graduated (from last year). We have one to two freshmen for girls. No (freshmen) boys, I’m down to about two boys, it looks like. It’s not encouraging, and I don’t know if that’s all sports.”

Sophomore Jameson Russell, who competes in the butterfly and sprinting events, and junior Tyler Foster lead the Cony boys.

“They’re both state qualifiers, they’re putting in the effort,” Johnston said. “They should have good seasons.”

The Cony girls, though smaller in numbers, should still be a force within the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference. Senior Lunden Dinkel finished second in the 100 breaststroke at the Class A championships two years ago, and recorded a top-five finish in the 100 butterfly. She also swam on several relay teams, including a state-title winning 200 medley relay team. She’ll be joined by Emma Crosby, a returning state meet qualifier in the breaststroke. Abigail Martin (freestyle), Jordan Locsin (freestyle, backstroke), Ayanna Goonesekere (individual medley, back, freestyle) also should perform well. Johnston said he is also high on freshmen Emily Kennard, who should be strong in the backstroke, freestyle and individual medley, as well as Bailey Geneseo (freestyle).

Fellow Class A program Messalonskee will be in the KVAC mix, led by new head coach Carrie Thurston.

Pekins is also trying to add more depth to his Gardiner/Hall-Dale squad, which competes in Class B. However, he has strong numbers on the girls side (17 in the preseason). His top returner will be junior Libby Pekins and will be joined by Renee Molesworth, Ashlyn Poulin, Cassidy Clark and Hayden Alberti. Freshman Caylyn Pekins should also contribute.

“I’m excited,” Pekins said. “I’ve got my swimmers back from Hall-Dale that didn’t swim last year. I have my seniors swimming for me from Gardiner. I have a big group of juniors, a couple returning sophomores and a fast freshman.”

Waterville/Winslow, also a Class B team, returns top swimmers Emma Farnham of Winslow and Ebba Heaton-Jones of Waterville. Both competed in the relays at the Class B meet two years ago, with Heaton-Jones competing well in the freestyle events, while Farnham took part in the breaststroke and 200 individual medley.

“I think the story of this season is just a lot of new faces,” Giroux said. “A couple years back, we had a pretty big senior class and it brought numbers down. It’s really great to see some new faces coming up. We have an exchange student, several freshmen. We brought the team back to mid to high teens, which is bigger than it’s been in a while. It’s not huge, but it’s bigger than I expected, and it’s been great.”

Erskine Academy, led by a girls relay team that included Emma Fortin and Grace Kelso two seasons ago at the Class B championships, will also be in the mix.