[3][4] The United States Lifesaving Association's predecessor organization was founded in 1956 by lifeguard agencies in and around Los Angeles, California as the Surf Life Saving Association of America to compete in an international lifesaving competition held concurrently with the 1956 Summer Olympics in Australia.

[1][3] Later, in 1964, the group renamed itself the National Surf Life Saving Association to include lifeguard agencies along the coast of California which is viewed as the official beginning of the organization.

"[1] Alongside the International Life Saving Federation, the United States Lifesaving Association created a standardized system of beach warning flags.

[3] It is governed by a board of directors made up of individuals determined by regional subdivision which meets biannually.

[6][16] In 2001, based on ten years of data, the organization calculated that the chance that an individual will drown at a beach staffed by United States Lifesaving Association affiliated lifeguards as 1 in 18 million or 0.0000056% and has remained constant in the years since.