A Special Olympics athlete can now hang 10 with the best.

Megan Bell, 24, is now the first Special Olympian on a 14-member Ron Jon Surf Shop team of professional surfers from around the country.

On Friday, the team gave Bell, who's from Jacksonville, her very own board.

"It's awesome, gives me confidence," she said.

There to lend a hand with her new surfboard was her new teammate and veteran surfer Lauren McLean.

"They chose a good person and we are honored to have her with us," says McLean.

Now Bell will be doing something she's practiced time and time again for the past four years -- surfing.

Bell rose to the top of the 150 Special Olympian surfers in the program, which began in Jacksonville back in 2011.

Bell's mother, Susan, said the program has had a big effect on her daughter's life.

"To see the difference and the growth she has made," she said. "She had never surfed until Ron Jon started the Special Olympic program."

Next up for Bell is training, as she'll be coming along with 200 of her fellow Special Olympians at a contest coming up right here in September.

She will also join her teammates at surf-related events across the nation.