Participants From Region Many, Varied : Olympic Festival: Athletes in sports such as shooting and field hockey range in age from 13 to 55.

Opening ceremonies for the Olympic Festival are only 15 days away, and the contingent of regional competitors continues to steadily grow.

With rosters from sports such as softball, baseball and track and field still to be finalized, the list of local participants already has reached 56, including two head coaches, an assistant and a team manager.

Fifty-five-year-old Don Nygord of La Crescenta, a veteran marksman, is among those scheduled to participate in shooting during the Festival, which opens with a ceremony at Dodger Stadium the night of July 12. Competition begins the following day and runs through July 21 at sites in and around Los Angeles.

At the other end of the age spectrum is 13-year-old Mike La Sala, one of the youngest participants in Festival history.

La Sala, of Thousand Oaks, is among 22 local athletes competing in men’s field hockey at Loyola Marymount, July 13-18. He is a member of the 15-man Junior national squad, which will participate in the Festival as the South team.

Among La Sala’s teammates are Ryan Langford, Brant Lloyd and Taylor Trickle of Camarillo, Steve Cathey, Bill Neff and James Ryan of Simi Valley, Binh Hoang of Westlake and Scott Williams of Thousand Oaks.

Palmdale’s Brian Spencer, a 1984 Olympian, is among 13 field hockey players from the region who will represent the West team. The West will be coached by Jeff Jones of Thousand Oaks and Mike Whitehead of Agoura Hills.

Figure skating, weightlifting, equestrian, canoe/kayak and men’s volleyball are among other sports in which the region will be well represented.

Natasha Kuchiki of Canoga Park and Todd Sand of Costa Mesa, the nation’s top pairs figure skating team, are among those schedule to compete July 13-14 at the Forum.

Kuchiki’s sister Tamara is entered in ladies’ singles, as are Tisha Walker of Thousand Oaks and Joanna Ng of Woodland Hills.

Diana Fuhrman, the American record-holder in the 67.5-kilogram weight class, heads a trio of women’s weightlifters from Simi Valley who will compete at UCLA’s Royce Hall, July 19-21.

The others are Jackie Mah (75-kilo) and Carole Louise (82.5-kilo).

In competition at the L.A. Equestrian Center, Camarillo’s Shelly Lawder, Moorpark’s Hilda Gurney and Newbury Park’s Marie Meyers will participate in dressage. Gaby Salick of Thousand Oaks, riding Cassandra, will take part in show jumping.

Men’s kayak racing will include Erik Bear of Oxnard, Tyrone Dell of Van Nuys and Mark Cleavenger of Camarillo. Cleavenger’s wife Becky will participate in the women’s kayak competition. Joe Harper of Ventura is entered in men’s canoe.

In men’s volleyball, standouts from Cal State Northridge’s team are spread in three directions.

Middle blocker Raphael Tulino will play for the North and outside hitters Neil Coffman and Ken Lynch will represent the East and South, respectively. Northridge Coach John Price will guide the East squad.