MOSES LAKE — The Moses Lake BMX group had a big year in 2025 as they experienced growth in their riders and the facility. With the season ending in November, Jeff Niehenke, President of Moses Lake BMX, has had time to reflect and plan for what’s to come at the start of the next season. 

“This year went really well,” said Niehenke. “We were in two new beginner leagues, and we just had a lot of growth from the beginner leagues.” 

One of the biggest developments for BMX was the showing from the female riders this season. The team not only had a large number of girls join the team, but the girls also had impressive feats throughout the season. 

Allie Kay Tatum was the first competitor to go to worlds at the Cycliste Internationale BMX Racing World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, where she finished 50th out of 68 riders in the women's 17-24 age group.  

Two girls also became the first in program history to earn national rankings, with Jordan Niehenke earninga  national age group number 10 on cruiser and a national age group number 11 on class and Sophia Mendez earned a number nine national age group ranking for cruiser. 

“Our girls absolutely blew it away this year,” he said. “For overall on the season, just seeing the girls actually take the spotlight, you just don’t see that, and to have three girls steal a spotlight across the board is just phenomenal.” 

The BMX track in Moses Lake saw major improvements to the facility this year, with the addition of a concession stand early in the season and the addition of sidewalks and a patio at the concessions stand. These improvements helped embolden the sense of community that BMX has been working to build and create a more positive environment for those who are watching the races to feel more comfortable staying there. 

“That was a big win for us and a longtime goal to have that at the track,” he said. 

These additions were made possible with the help of the Moses Lake Rotary Club who not only helped fund the upgrades but came down to the facility to put in physical labor where it was needed.  

Rotary Club President Tori Douglass said the involvement from the Rotary Club came as her daughter raced for Moses Lake BMX for the last five years. During that time, she heard from Niehenke about some of the upgrades that were being planned for the facility but were in need of additional funding to make them happen.  

With Douglass becoming the president of the Rotary Club at the start of the year, she decided that the Rotary project for the year would be to assist Moses Lake BMX in completing its upgrades. The Rotary Club assisted with the removal of sod around the concessions facility and pitched in about half of the roughly $14,000 total cost of the concrete pour for the sidewalk and patio, and the district grant covered the rest. 

These upgrades were also necessary in making the facility more ADA compliant and makes the facility more appealing for individuals to want to come and watch the races, said Douglass. This in the long run will bring more attention to BMX and get more people involved in the sport. 

She said the project reached full completion by Aug. 5, which gave the community some time to enjoy the upgrades before the end of the season. 

“The accessibility to the concession stand was the most important, (the sidewalk) made the access so much more pleasant,” said Douglass. “It was all grass and kind of bumpy and made it difficult for any kind of walking assistance to be used so it was really nice to see those individuals that had difficulty moving around make it much easier for them.” 

There is still some work to be done at the facility, said Niehenke and one of the first things that he wants to have completed before the start of next season is to finish the retaining walls surrounding the track. 

“I’m just trying to get everything shored up and looking a lot better with more spectator area and really just make it a top-notch facility instead of just a bare bones facility that we started out with,” he said. 

All of these upgrades play into the long-term goal of bringing a national race to Moses Lake. Niehenke said the work towards that has been done in collaboration with the lodging tax association which has also been putting in heavy funding into the BMX facility. 

In the next year, using the lodging tax grant, he said they plan on adding timing to the track to turn it into more of a full-featured training facility, as well as new surface treatments to try and reduce the maintenance and make a better riding surface. 

Another goal that Niehenke said he wants to see accomplished next season is increased growth and seeing double the number of riders on the track every week.  

“We have new bikes and helmets on hand to get kids started and so really the focus is going to be on beginner rider leagues and getting more kids on the track,” he said.  

Niehenke said none of this would be possible, whether it be financial support or physical support from businesses working on the facility, without the help of the sponsors and the community support for Moses Lake BMX.  

“With their support, we’re able to bring in so much more and leverage the community at hand,” he said. 

    Local BMX rider, Alli Kay Tatum, before one of her races at the UI BMX World Championships. Moses Lake BMX President Jeff Niehenke said the girls had a strong showing in BMX this year.
  

    The concessions stand and concrete patio and walkway were all recent additions to the Moses Lake BMX track this season. These additions were made possible in collaboration with the Moses Lake Rotary Club.
  

    Moses Lake BMX riders gather for a photo following their Halloween event towards the end of the season. The events held during the last few months of the season allowed for spectators to fully experience the upgrades made to the facility.