CIPS headquarters are located in Rome, Italy where its day-to-day operations are conducted.

[1] World and continental championships are directly organised by its international federations.

CIPS is the predecessor of Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques (CMAS) in respect to spearfishing.

CMAS was founded in 1959 by national federations which at the time were members of the Comité des Sports Sous-Marins (Underwater Sports Committee) of CIPS.

This decision was lambasted by some as 'absolutely discriminatory', while gender critical advocates hailed it as a victory for future generations.