There seems to be somewhat of a consensus that they aren't subject to the laws of magic in any way. I'll definitely take this into consideration and think on it some more, i'm leaning towards agreeing with this assessment (pun intended).

It says in YS252 that "Most maneuvers require 3 shifts of power, but if the target has an appropriate resisting skill rated higher than Good (+3), that skill total determines the required shifts.

Let's say the Dame of Spring has a Whirwind Spell that affects everyone in 1 zone, would you still compare her Discipline roll + foci vs target's athletics and that this spell can only affect anyone with Athletics of 3 or less? If she wants to affect Helen Beckit (Athletics +4) and Greg Beckit (Athletics +2), her spell would automatically fail vs Helen and she would have to roll vs Greg.

Whirlwind
Type: Storm evocation, Offensive Manuever
Power: 5 shifts ~ 3 for the Manuever, 2 for Zone wide effect.
Stress: 2 Mental (1 for basic evocation, 1 stress for 1 level of uncontrolled power)
Control: None needed (rote).
To hit: Discipline + 1 for Sword Offensive Control Focus vs. target’s Athletics.

Thanks for the replies... technically the character doesn't have the Sponsored Magic Power, they have Seelie Magic, which  behaves much like Sponsored Magic. I think it's just an oversight and will grant her 4 foci.

Also - I would rule that mortal spellcasters are subject to the laws of magic because they are mortal, it's not necessarily something that only matters to you if someone can enforce it. In addition to this - magic is pretty powerful in this game, so it's a game balance thing too.