The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

boards \boards\ n.
   1. the boarding that surrounds an ice hockey rink.
      [WordNet 1.5]

   2. the stage; as, to walk the boards, i.e. to act on stage.
      [PJC]

   3. board examinations (in a profession, as in medicine); --
      an informal contraction; as, to take the boards; he
      flunked the boards.
      [PJC]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):

boards
    n 1: the stage of a theater; "most actors love to stride the
         boards"
    2: the boarding that surrounds an ice hockey rink