After being a staple on the local athletics scene for many years, the 23-year-old has relocated to Timaru for his new job as a policeman.
That followed six months at Police College in Wellington.
It is a big change for the hammer thrower and one he is enjoying.
However, there are some things he will not change.
Despite being a little busier nowadays he is sticking with the sport, and his blood is still very much blue and gold - and not just in an Otago sense.
''Definitely, I'm not changing that,'' he said when asked if he was still competing for Taieri.
''Got to keep my loyalties.''
He was looking forward to competing at his home championships and was hoping to put out a good performance.
Having won bronze at last year's national championships, it had been a ''pretty patchy'' season for Bates this summer.
His time at police college had prevented him from doing his normal heavy load of training over winter.
However, he was now back into it and had made some technical adjustments.
For now, that had him moving more slowly in the circle, which accounted for a slight drop in distance.
He was not worried by that, though, knowing the distances would come back once his speed returned.
While another national medal would be nice, a personal best was his goal.
Having been just below 55m over the past couple of years, that was the elusive target he was chasing.
It was more difficult now that he was working a full-on job with variable hours.
However, after contemplating giving it away, he decided he would do what he had to in order to keep going.
''I considered [giving it up].
''Then I just made a decision, I'll stick with it.
''Do I want to give it up because I don't have the time? Well, I'll make the time. I'll put the effort in and I'll get it done.
''It's harder now that my work schedule is all over the place, because I'm tired now when I wouldn't have been. It's harder to find times to go to the gym and to throw.
''But I make it work. I love the sport, so I've got to make it work to keep it going.''
Before leaving for police college he had been a physical education student at the University of Otago.
He grew up in Dunedin and is the son of internationally renowned coach and manager Raylene Bates.
This year's Otago Championships will combine the senior and children's events into one meeting. They are scheduled to begin at 9.15am today and conclude about 4pm tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the New Zealand combined events championships will be held in Whanganui this weekend.
Notable among the entrants for those is Otago's Felix McDonald, who will chase his first senior decathlon national title.
