SwingFest '08 opens in Hollywood for Swingers August 01, 2008 12:00am THE beefy guy in a white T-shirt explained the ground rules of SwingFest to dozens of couples standing in line at the ritzy hotel in Hollywood. No nudity at the hotel pool. No hitting on hotel staff. Other than that, it's anything goes, with organisers encouraging participants to treat the four-diamond Westin Diplomat Resort as their personal "playground." Those waiting to register for what's billed as "the world's largest swingers party" looked like everyday people who might be milling around a movie theatre lobby. Except they had no popcorn or lollies. One woman's open tote bag did include vibrating underwear and a length of rope. With hundreds of couples signed up for the four-day SwingFest, it appears the swinging lifestyle has come a long way toward acceptance in South Florida since Broward deputies under Sheriff Ken Jenne raided two private clubs in 1999. Of the 55 swing-club patrons and employees hauled away in handcuffs, none was found guilty of a crime and most had their cases dropped by prosecutors. "We didn't even look into that," Jason Jean, SwingFest's owner and organiser, said of South Florida's not-so-swinging past. "We literally chose it for the weather and the hotel." Until Sunday, the hotel will host swingers from almost every state and 20 countries for lingerie parties, pool fests and "play rooms" that the SwingFest web site promises will be "wild." "With so much space available to us during the resort takeover, you're sure to find the room you desire," according to the event web site. "Or just lounge by the pool and soak in the sexually charged atmosphere." That atmosphere should make things interesting for the other conventioneers at the Diplomat: Pearson Media Group, a children's textbook maker. SwingFest has an educational aspect, too. Speakers will lead seminars on topics like Legal Issues Affecting Swingers Clubs and Writing the Perfect Online Profile. If that's too tame, other symposiums will touch on Pole Dancing and Bondage for Beginners. The swinger couples who came for the convention shelled out $US300 ($A319) for weekend passes, plus a few hundred dollars for a room at the Westin. "It's a fairly affluent group," said Greg Freeman, SwingFest's marketing director. "We have lawyers, doctors, executives. Pretty much anyone and everyone."