Zane Timpson lives life on the edge. Last November it was atop a 23-foot vertical ramp in the LG World Action Sports Tour Championship in Dallas, Texas.

The children of Vista Soccer Club are making the calls on the field as part of the club’s Junior Referee program.

Mastering one board sport is difficult enough, but remaining competitive in three of the most popular and technically difficult sports is a major accomplishment. From April 13 to April 19, 45 contestants sought the title of Ultimate Boarder as they competed in snowboarding, skateboarding and surfing.

Just last week, I submitted a piece for this column titled “Great and not so great sharks terrorize Cardiff.” The story was about sharks I had seen in Australian and Northern Californian waters and the juvenile great white that buzzed me while spear fishing on a remote La Jolla reef.

Twice a week for more than 10 years I have had the privilege of teaching surf PE at The Grauer School. This is a welcome interruption to a day that is usually filled with interviews and press releases and other mundane activities that tax the brain and weaken the body — not all of the body, really, my fingers are in really good shape from banging out 23 words per minute.

“Keep in touch — I need your skill.”

This is the third in a five-part series on surfers’ health. The first columns in the series can be found online at www.coastnewsgroup. com.

From Pop Warner football to Little League baseball, Vista’s kids have lots of opportunities to play sports, yet there is still a basketball-sized hole in young children’s athletics.

The new Encinitas library is alive with possibility for surfers who like to dream. Check out the Ocean Room.

Surfing is fairly gentle on the body, but even it has its occupational hazards. After 45 years on a surfboard, I have developed everything from surfer’s ear to bad posture, and am always on the lookout for ways to correct the problems caused by all that fun. One of the quickest and best remedies I’ve found is neuromuscular deep-tissue therapy.