Teenager Mikayla Bond felt at ease in the pool. That same feeling eluded her in the ocean.

But with Victorian government restrictions closing down indoor centres, such as Aquazone, she's tackled her worries head on.

Bond, along with other Warrnambool Swimming Club members, is doing up to three ocean water swims a week.

"It's been interesting. It is really different, since all the pools and gyms are closed we have to go into the ocean and swim," she said.

"At the beginning I was so nervous about swimming in the ocean but I had to learn to get over my fears."

Bond, 15, had dabbled in ocean swimming previously but is now a regular in the chilly Warrnambool waters.

"We used to have to do it in the summertime to get our confidence up but now it's our only option to be able to swim so we had to get over fears and pull ourselves together and do it," she said.

"I am really confident out in the ocean now and it's really fun to be able to get out there."

Restrictions limit swimming to pairs.

The Warrnambool College student, who also dances and plays netball, often teams up with Georgia Turner for the swims but said she "likes to mix it up a bit so I am still catching up with other people from the swimming club as well".

"We have also been on Zoom doing workouts to keep our fitness up," Bond said.

"We usually swim about two to three times a week and Zoom two times a week."

Bond started competitive swimming five years ago and had high hopes for her 2020 season.

But the pandemic, which has brought sport to a standstill, impacted her plans.

Swimming stopped during the first strict lockdowns earlier this year.

Competitors were then restricted to ocean swimming in groups of 10 during stage two restrictions before pools re-opened for five weeks.

Stage three, which was re-introduced in regional areas in early August and will be in place until at least September 13, forced Aquazone to shut for a second time.

"I was just starting to get PBs and then we had to go back into lockdown so it's going to be hard to get that fitness back up to where I was," Bond said.

"I am missing the chlorine - I never thought I'd say that."

Warrnambool Swimming Club coach Jayson Lamb said it was important to give swimmers a sense of routine.

"We are doing what we can and I guess that's been our message to the kids - in these sort of times you need to focus on what you can do not what you can't do," he said.

"We're focusing on keeping the kids engaged as opposed to just swimming.

"It is maintaining some form of regime for them.

"We are presenting options where they can meet in pairs. It might be 'righto, Monday night meet in pairs and go for a swim at the Pavilion'.

"We are very lucky and fortunate we have our bay here. It's a beautiful spot and even though it's winter, the kids have really embraced it.

"They're doing all the right things - wearing their masks down there and only meeting in pairs. Another day it might be 'go for a run or go for a bike ride'."

Lamb said he was unsure when pools would re-open.

He said the short period when the club returned to indoor lessons was pleasing.

"We got in the pool for five weeks. In the mornings we were swimming at the Warrnambool College pools and then in the evenings we were swimming at Aquazone," he said. "It was from 7pm to 9pm and so we could get everyone through, we were breaking them up into one-hour sessions."