My 15 year old daughter as of last weekend took a shine to surfing. She caught a few gentle waves on my 8'11" All wave and loved it. Now I can't have her borrowing my board all the time so I need to get her one of her own. I like to support the local shop here so my options are either JP or Fanatic ( they can get most models in). She is a pretty accomplished paddler with good fitness is 5'6" and about 55kgs. Any thoughts?

Just for surfing have lots of flat water boards. Was thinking the 8'2" wide body looking online at JPs line

I think Loz has nailed it but if you did step up a size or went to the wide body you could have another toy to play with!

For my experience with my daugthers (55 & 60 kg), less than intermediate surfers:
- you want them to feel safe, so not too narrow to keep some reassuring stability... but not too wide otherwise it will have too much row and become harder to paddle for their size
- not too short, they do not have the max paddling power for take off on short SUPs. More than 8' long. A board with a good glide will help them a lot for take off.
- not too long or too much volume (thickness), otherwise they will be afraid of the bulk. No longer than 9' and more than ~ 130l volume

From the web site, the Fanatic Ripper Kids seems perfect!
I do not see something quite as adapted in the JP range. The Venus 8'10" could be good once they have progressed somewhat, because I am afraid the extra rocker and narrow nose wont be fun for learning in weak waves...

My 12 year old daughter uses my 7'11 waterborne evoke and has a ball. 32" wide for stability (I need it for the float at 130 litres) and not too long for her to use. Could be worth a look?? Cheers.