Nearly all the sport federations in Turkey are under the direct responsibility of the Ministry of Sports and are grouped in the Turkish Sports Confederation. The Turkish Sports Confederation is headed by a President, appointed by the Minister. He presides the Council who has the responsibility of over 37 federations. Every Federation has an elected President, an appointed Secretary General and appointed staff members. They all are designated by the Council and are paid by the Ministry. All federations are grouped together in a federation building.

The Turkish Underwater Sports Federation is one of the 37 federations. It was founded in 1980. It promotes lifesaving water rescue and education all over Turkey and is responsible for over 1.000 lifesavers yearly.

Since lifesaving and lifeguarding have not yet been regulated by law, most of the lifesavers perform duties on a voluntary basis.