Bayside Gymnastics Earns National Award

Jennifer McIntyre, owner of Bayside Gymnastics, which has been rebranded as Bayside Athletics, was named the 2026 Delaware Small Businessperson of the Year. The recognition was from the national Small Business Association and McIntyre joined other winners at the White House recently. This week, McIntyre was recognized at her current Milford location.

“I was appointed by the Trump Administration, and my philosophy is things happen in the field, not behind a desk,” Jim Spencer, Regional Administrator of the SBA. “The definition of a entrepreneur is seven words – Solve People’s Problems for Profit and Fun. Jennifer is solving problems today. So, if Delaware through policies and things they do can help entrepreneurs, create a state where businesses can grow, that is a wonderful thing.”

Spencer pointed out that there were 111,000 small businesses in the state and if 10 percent opened in Milford, that would be 11,000 companies. He stated that the city would bend over backwards for the jobs those would create and the economic benefit they would bring.

“It’s just a wonderful time to be an entrepreneur,” Mayor Todd Culotta said. “In this country, there are so many tools and programs and advisors that are available to entrepreneurs to help them become successful. We, as a city, and me, as mayor, have to help grow the city economically. That’s one of my primary goals. We have a new industrial center. We have the growth of businesses like this who are not only thriving but expanding.”

Bayside Athletics is currently building a new facility in the Milford Industrial Park, a project that came to fruition due to an EDGE grant a few years ago. After Culotta spoke, McIntyre received proclamations from Representative Lisa Blunt-Rochester as well as Senators Chris Coons and Sarah McBride.

According to McIntyre, she grew up in New York and was an avid gymnast. Circumstances took her away from the gym, so she married and began raising a family. She and her husband moved to Delaware where McIntyre was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 23. She stayed committed to a healthy lifestyle and poured herself into teaching as well as coaching. During a random conversation with her husband, Jeremy, McIntyre mentioned that she thought it would be cool to own a gym. Within minutes, it went from “wouldn’t it be cool” to “let’s do it.”

“This has been an unexpected blessing in my life,” McIntyre said. “I never expected to get a reward like this. There are so many deserving business owners in the state that are equally as deserving of this award as I am and maybe even more. When I first got the notice, I was awarded, I thought it was a joke. But, when I realized it was real, my next thought was “Why me?” I had cancer many years ago and that was life changing. At the time, I grieved, I wondered if I would be there to see my kids grow up. But the Lord used that to make me who I am and shape me into the person I am today.”

McIntyre thanked those who made her dream come true, including her children, her parents, her in-laws, her friends, her staff and the support system that helped her achieve her dream. She joked that although her children were likely going to take over the business at some point, her granddaughter had other thoughts.

“My granddaughter seems to think we are skipping over my children, and she will inherit this business form us and take it to the next level,” McIntyre said. “She’s already made it clear she is next in line for the business and that her mommy is not the priority owner, she is.”

But all kidding aside, McIntyre knows that the new building, which they will own, is an investment into her children’s future. She knows that 50 years from now things will be different, but that she knows the business will continue.

“Of course, I have to thank my husband,” McIntyre said. “I was 15 years old when we met and he’s been with me ever since. We have been married almost 32 years, and we do everything together and without him I would not be here today.”

The new location for Bayside Athletics is currently under construction. They hope to be in the new building by summer. To learn more about Bayside Athletics, visit them online.