University of Pittsburgh Band

At the University of Pittsburgh, the Varsity Marching Band Program is an excellent way demonstrate your school spirit and support the Department of Athletics.  The Golden Girls have been an esteemed portion of the University of Pittsburgh Marching Band and will be entering their 51st year in 2026 and continue to uphold the tradition as the University's “Glitz and Glamour".

The Pitt Band is the largest student organization on campus and the Golden Girls are featured as the baton twirling and dance auxiliary unit of the Pitt Band.  To be a "Golden Girl", you should be versatile and proficient in both dancing and twirling.  The Golden Girls perform at all the Panther home football games, selected away football games, and a handful of men's and women's basketball games.  Additionally, the Golden Girls perform at various university and community events.

Throughout the years, the Golden Girls have featured many nationally ranked solo twirlers.  During our Pregame Show, the Pitt Band marches to “Hail to Pitt” which our Feature Twirler leads the band front down the field.  Each year, auditions are held for this position.  The audition for the Feature Twirler is the same process as the Golden Girl Squad and is awarded to the candidate with the overall highest total score.  The Golden Girl who is selected for this solo has the potential to be awarded additional scholarship money.

In the winter/spring, the Golden Girls perform exhibition routines on their recruiting tour including Women’s and Men’s Basketball Games, and in addition, a handful of TRWEA Competitions.  The Golden Girls have also competed in TU (Twirling Unlimited) and NBTA (National Baton Twirling Association) competitions and have proudly captured the NBTA "Grand National/World College Halftime" title 4 times.

AUDITION INFORMATION FOR 2026-2027 SEASON
We are excited to host LIVE Auditions on SUNDAY March 29, 2026 in the Pitt Sports Dome.  The Sports Dome is located on the back side of Upper Campus at Pitt (570 Champions Drive; Pittsburgh, PA 15219) and free street parking is available.  If street parking is full, additional paid parking is available via the UPMC Towerview Garage. 

 REGISTER HERE: Golden Girl Audition Form       Registration is open through March 22, 2026!
The audition process will be separated into three components including: The Private Interview/Individual Routine and the Compulsory Routine, the.  Descriptions of each are as follows:
 
Private Interview
At the beginning of your individual audition, you will be asked:
 
“Why do you want to be a Pitt Golden Girl?”
OR
“Why would you like to return as a Pitt Golden Girl?”
Response/statement should be no longer one minute.  The key is to display YOUR personality.  This will account for approximately 10% of your score. 


Individual Routines
For the “Individual Solo”, we require that all candidates perform a 1:00-2:30 minute routine, to a music selection of your choice. The routine should best demonstrate your talents in both dancing and twirling. Only batons are permitted to be used (1, 2, 3, and/or 4 batons).  We emphasize that we are a baton twirling group and no fire batons and/or knives may be used in the audition facilities. This will account for approximately 40% of your score.  Routines will be timed, so please adhere to the time limit.
 
Compulsory Routine
The Compulsory Routine, consisting of 1 baton combinations, in addition to 2 and 3 baton combinations, with integrated dance, consist of elements we require to be a Golden Girl. Please access the video to the combinations included within the Compulsory Routine here. (Ignore the March 22, 2020 Date reference in the video!)
 
These combinations should be learned in advance of auditions. During the live audition, they will be reviewed and put to counts and music.  Following review, they will be performed in small groups for the judges during the first segment of auditions.  The Compulsory Routine will account for approximately 30% of your total score.
 
 
Additional Scores
An Overall Performance, Style and Presentation score worth approximately 20% will be scored by our judges.  In total, the candidates will be evaluated on skills, style, performance proficiency, and overall execution throughout all three segments of your audition.  A copy of the score sheet utilized for our auditions is available at the end of this information packet. 
 
View the Full Information Packet (PDF) for more detailed information surrounding our audition process, in addition to answers to FAQs and an overview of the Feature Twirler requirements.

The University of Pittsburgh Varsity Marching Band is always looking for fresh faces and new talent to join the elite ranks of the University of Pittsburgh Golden Girls.  For any additional questions, please e-mail: pittband@pitt.edu.   Thank you for your interest, we look forward to meeting you, and HAIL TO PITT!