LINCOLN - Gov. Pete Ricketts will allow contact sports in the state to resume on July 1. That means the Nebraska Shrine Bowl can be played July 11 in Kearney. Also, high school football, basketball and soccer players and wrestlers can join the rest of their classmates in summer workouts.

Jay Bellar, the executive director of the Nebraska School Activities Association, said the NSAA will provide schools with updated guidelines as soon as it can. Shrine Bowl executive director Dave MacDonald, who heard about the July 1 opening from a board member, called it a “pretty exciting day.”

“Everything is a go," he said.

It was only last week that the NSAA allowed high schools to hold open gyms for basketball, football, soccer and wrestling with restrictions.Activity through June 30 will be limited to individual skills and workouts. There can no physical contact with others, no sharing of equipment and no grouping of students. Open gym supervisors are required to enforce the restrictions.On Thursday, the NSAA will let high schools participate in camps, clinics and summer leagues in all sanctioned activities except basketball, football, soccer and wrestling. Thursday also is the first day for youth baseball and softball games in the state.

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