The month of your birth influences your chances of becoming a professional sportsperson, according to Australian academics in a new study.

　　澳大利亚的一项最新学术研究表明，一个人出生的月份会影响其成为职业运动员的几率。

　　Dr Adrian Barnett, from Queensland University of Technology's Institute of Health and Biomedical Innovation, studied the seasonal patterns of population health, and found by analysing the birthdays of professional Australian Football League players, that a disproportionate number were born in the early months of the year.

　　昆士兰科技大学健康和生物医学创新研究所的艾德里安 巴奈特博士对人口健康的季节性模式进行了研究，并通过对澳大利亚足球联盟的职业球员的生日进行分析后发现，该职业联盟中相当大一部分人出生于年初。

Unlike in the UK, the Australian school year begins in January. The studies correlates with findings in the UK, where the year starts in September, that autumn babies are more likely to succeed in sport, particularly football.

　　与英国九月份开学不同，澳大利亚的新学年从一月份开始。英国的研究发现秋天出生的孩子在体育运动方面取得成功的可能性更大，尤其在足球项目上。澳大利亚的这项研究与该发现具有相关性。

"Children who are taller have an obvious advantage when playing the football code of AFL," Dr Barnett said. "If you were born in January, you have almost 12 months' growth ahead of your classmates born late in the year."

　　巴奈特博士说：“如果按照澳大利亚足球联盟的规则，那些个头较高的孩子具有明显优势。如果你一月份出生，那么你比在这一年年底出生的同班同学就多长了近12个月。”

　　Barnett found there were 33 per cent more professional AFL players than expected with birthdays in January and 25 per cent fewer in December.

　　巴奈特发现，该联盟中一月份出生的职业球员数量超出预期33%，而12月份出生的球员数量则比预期少25%。

Those results mirror other international studies which found a link between being born near the start of school year and the chances of becoming a professional player, particularly in ice hockey, football, volleyball and basketball.

　　其他一些国际研究也有类似发现，如在新学年快开始时出生的人成为职业运动员的几率更大，尤其在冰球、足球、排球和篮球等项目上。

　　"Research in the UK shows those born at the start of the school year also do better academically and have more confidence," he said.

　　巴奈特说：“英国的研究表明，在开学时出生的人在学业上也更优秀，而且更为自信。”

That said, aspiring junior sports people at school should not despair. The month of their birth never stood in the way of Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson (July) winning 11 paralympic gold medals, Sir Chris Hoy (March) winning three Olympic golds, and other sporting legends such as Bobby Moore (April), Kapil Dev (January), Daley Thompson (July), and Lawrence Dallaglio (August).

　　尽管有这个说法，但有志成为职业运动员但出生月份较晚的学生千万不要绝望。看看七月出生、赢得11块残奥会金牌的塔妮 格雷-汤姆森爵士，三月出生、赢得三块奥运会金牌的克里斯 霍伊爵士 ，以及三月出生的波比 摩尔、一月出生的卡皮尔 戴夫、七月出生的戴利 汤姆森和八月出生的劳伦斯 达拉格里奥等体育界传奇人物，出生月份对于他们来说从来就不是个问题。