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They also want the SDBA to promote the water-safety guidelines set by the International Dragon Boat Federation (IDBF).
The families said they were asking for this so they can get closure for their losses.
The five paddlers - Mr Stephen Loh, 31, Mr Reuben Kee, 23, Mr Poh Boon San, 27, Mr Jeremy Goh, 24, and Mr Chee Wei Cheng, 20 - drowned in the Tonle Sap River when their boat capsized after the race.
Mr Freddie Kee, Reuben's father, told reporters at a press conference yesterday that the bereaved families had tried to talk to the SDBA privately, and that Mr Levin Angsana's death 'put new urgency to the matter'.
Mr Angsana, a 23-year-old sailor, fell off his keelboat off Tuas and drowned two weeks ago. The undergraduate, said to be a poor swimmer, was not wearing a life jacket.
His death re-ignited the debate on the use of life jackets by all who take part in water-based activities.
The issue first cropped up when the safety inquiry panel released its report on the Cambodian accident, which noted that IDBF rules required life jackets to be worn in open-water activities.
Mr Kee, speaking on behalf of the grieving families, noted that the SDBA had made life jackets optional for the race.
He asked: 'IDBF rules said they should have been worn, so who is responsible?'
He also said he wished to clarify 'categorically that all the five boys who died were strong swimmers'.
For example, his son Reuben had several swimming awards from his school days, while Mr Poh had taken part in the Singapore Navy's swim meets and Mr Loh was an SAF commando.
He said some news reports - including those quoting observers as having suggested the boys were not strong swimmers - had caused the families 'more hurt and suffering'.
The families felt that their sons were being blamed for the accident and it was hindering them from moving on and healing, Mr Kee said.
Noting that the inquiry panel report released at the end of May said no rules had been broken, he said bitterly:
'What we are saying is that there were no rules followed. A lot of decisions were based on judgment calls and - if I may use the word - lousy.'
The families said they were not looking for monetary compensation, but for an apology from the SDBA and an acknowledgement that it could have done better; that it did not do its best.
'If this can all be put together, then we can move on.'
Contacted by The Straits Times, SDBA president Kwek Siew Jin said: 'Sorry, I have no comment.'
